Supported by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), this series talks about allyship for diversity and inclusion and showing support to scientists from underrepresented groups, through the thematic video interviews of four researchers working in psychiatric neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology in the US.
Dr Marina Picciotto
"Just because someone doesn't approach problems the same way we do, it doesn't mean that their approach is wrong, in fact it might be better."
Dr Marina Picciotto is the Director of the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program and a Charles B.G. Murphy Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine (United States). Dr Picciotto is also the President of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) (2023-2024) and Member of the ACNP Council (2022-2024).
Dr Mercedes Perez-Rodriguez
"There is nothing better to boost your self-efficacy, or remove your impostor syndrome, than if someone that you admire and is a role model for you, believes in you and makes you believe in you."
Dr. Mercedes Perez-Rodriguez is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Associate Training Director for Research, and Director of the Medical Student Clerkship for Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (United States).
Dr Edythe London
“Individuals from underrepresented backgrounds may have gaps in their training, and it doesn’t mean that they can’t be successful. It may take a little bit longer and require a little bit more support. But as soon as the trainee develops on his or her own, they really need to be given enough encouragement to be brave and to think big.”
Dr Edythe London is a Professor-in-Residence in the Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, and Thomas and Katherine Pike Chair in Addictive Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles (United States).
Dr Yasmin Hurd
"As I got more senior and I met some like-minded sisters, those sisters helped me. They weren't black. They weren't brown. They were just wonderful women, and that to me made a big difference, so that you had someone to speak with you and had someone who understood. Even if they couldn't really walk the path with you, they tried to walk in your shoes, to understand what you were going through, and I think that is allyship."
Dr Yasmin Hurd is the Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director of the Addiction Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (United States).
Production
This project was conceptualised and coordinated by Keerthana Iyer (ALBA Partnerships & Development Manager) and Mathilde Maughan (ALBA Project & Network Manager), in collaboration with ACNP's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Women’s Committee, and the ACNP Office. The interviews were directed and edited by Poppy Illsley.
Our heartfelt thanks to Andrew Osborne and the Office of Communications of Yale School of Medicine, to Julie Meyer and the Media office at Mount Sinai, and to Berenice Odriozola who filmed Dr London's interview.
This series is proudly supported by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).
