Dear CNLM Community,
The UC Irvine Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory is thrilled to welcome Dr. Erin Purvis to our team as the new Dana-CNLM Civic Science Fellow. Supported by the Dana Foundation in partnership with the Rita Allen Foundation, Erin joins the CNLM Office of Outreach and Education to strengthen our mission of engaging in science that benefits society and addresses the needs of our local communities.
Erin brings a strong background in neuroscience and community engagement to this role. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology from UC Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Erin’s doctoral dissertation focused on developing and characterizing a tissue-engineered rostral migratory stream—a regenerative medicine strategy for neuronal redirection and replacement following traumatic brain injury. This cutting-edge research inspired her to connect her scientific pursuits with the communities her work ultimately aimed to benefit. This dedication led her to engage more deeply with public scholarship, and she developed a passion for bridging the gap between academic researchers and their local communities—a gap she felt was lacking in her own academic experience.
As a 2022-2024 Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement Fellow at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Erin established the first formal academic program in community-engaged scholarship for biomedical PhD students at the University of Pennsylvania, including the innovative Community-Engaged STEM Graduate Certificate Program. These initiatives underscored her commitment to civic science and prepared her to make a significant impact as she joins the CNLM.
As our Civic Science Fellow, Erin will focus on the ethical and societal implications of sleep neuroscience, collaborating with the Santa Ana community to foster meaningful, bidirectional engagement. Her work will deepen the CNLM’s connections within the communities surrounding UC Irvine through a project co-created with local partners to enhance mutual learning and engagement.
Though based at the CNLM, Erin will also remotely participate in the 2024-25 Civic Science Fellowship cohort with the Rita Allen Foundation, a network of emerging leaders who collaborate on innovative science communication and community engagement practices.
This Fellowship is possible thanks to a grant from the Dana Foundation. The Foundation's support of this Fellowship reflects its commitment to training the next generation of neuroscience leaders who can bridge science and society. Erin will collaborate closely with the CNLM’s interdisciplinary team of scientists as well as community leaders, and organizations, bringing her unique background in neuroscience and community-engaged scholarship to her work.
We are excited to launch this new Civic Science Initiative at the CNLM and hope you will join us in extending a warm welcome to Dr. Erin Purvis. Be sure to stop by a coffee and bagel hour to meet her! She can be reached at epurvis@uci.edu.
Best,
Manuella Oliveira Yassa, PhD
Director of Outreach and Education
Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
University of California, Irvine
949.824.5193
manuella.yassa@uci.edu | www.cnlm.uci.edu