U of M neuroscience assistant professor inspires Black scientists, named to Forbes 30 under 30
Angeline Dukes, an assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Minnesota and founder of Black in Neuro was named to Forbes 30 under 30.
Courtesy Angeline Dukes
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Every year Forbes comes out with its prestigious 30 under 30 list. It highlights people making a change across various industries who are under the age of 30. In total, 30 people are selected across 20 industries. This year’s list includes Caitlin Clark and singer Noah Kahan. And it also includes a Minnesotan.
Angeline Dukes, an assistant professor in neuroscience at the University of Minnesota was named in the category of Social Impact. Dukes founded the organization Black In Neuro, which empowers Black scholars in neuroscience-related fields. She joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about the honor and her work.
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Every year, Forbes comes out with its prestigious 30 under 30 list. It highlights people making a change across various industries who are under the age of 30. In total, 30 people are selected across 20 industries. This year's list includes Caitlin Clark, singer Noah Kahan, and it also includes a Minnesotan. Angeline Dukes, an assistant professor in neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, was named in the category of social impact. Angeline founded the organization, Black In Neuro, which empowers Black scholars in neuroscience related fields. And she joins us now. Thanks for being here, Angeline.
ANGELINE DUKES: Thank you so much for having me.
NINA MOINI: Well, huge congratulations. Under 30, you're just starting out and already making such an amazing impact. When you found out you were on this list, how did it make you feel?
ANGELINE DUKES: Honestly, I was in disbelief at first. When I first got the email, it came very early in the morning, about 6 AM, and I thought it was just a little delirious, maybe a little sleepy. And so it took a little while for it to sink in.
NINA MOINI: Well, I'm not surprised because you're doing amazing work. Tell us a little bit about Black In Neuro and why you started it.
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, so Black In Neuro started in 2020. And in all honesty, it came from just, as during that time, it was in the midst of the pandemic, but it was also in the midst of a very public murders of Black people by the police in particular. And I was a graduate student at that time, in particular, I was one of two Black graduate students in my cohort in my PhD program, and there were no Black faculty within my department.
And so I just felt very isolated, and I wanted to connect with other Black people within the field so that I could find community support and to feel a little less isolated during this time. And so that's why Black In Neuro began, was really just this need to find comfort and support within our own communities.
It began as an online movement. So it started actually on Twitter. I sent a tweet out and that's how it got started. And since then it has grown immensely. We just intended to initially just do a week that would celebrate and highlight the research being done by Black scientists. Again, for our community to just find each other and get to know each other, because oftentimes it's just one or two Black people within any given neuroscience PhD program. And we really wanted to create this space where people could connect to each other. But after that initial week, we realized that we couldn't stop. And so it's grown immensely since then.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, I learned that it has 1,400 members across the world, 30 different countries. Why do you think that it did take off the way it did and it's resonated so much?
ANGELINE DUKES: I think that there are unique experiences that in particular people of color in any field deal with. And so being Black within the neurosciences is such a unique intersection of experiences, and finding people who just understand and are able to connect and provide advice is so essentially important. But even more than that, it's really important for the next generation to know that this is a possibility for them, and to see people who look like them thriving in this field.
NINA MOINI: Is there anyone that you've heard from that was just super cool, or you never thought you would talk to someone in this country or that, or any kind of happy surprises there?
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, there have been a lot of really amazing people I've been able to connect with through Black-owned or across multiple different continents. But in particular, some of my favorite rock star neuroscientists who are absolutely incredible, like Doctor Yasmin Hurd. She's at Mount Sinai, and she is just, like, a leader in the neuroscience field and particularly in the addiction field, which is what I got my PhD in. And absolutely incredible, Black women scientists.
And so being able to have conversations with her and learn more about her journeys and stories. And she even gave-- Black In Neuro does a series of different events, but one of them is a seminar series in which we have different Black scientists talk about not just their research, but also their journeys in the field. And so she was one of our seminar speakers, which was really incredible.
NINA MOINI: That is really cool. And you know there's a need for something when even people who are a really big deal in the field are checking it out. It gives it more visibility. So that's really neat. You mentioned a seminar series, and I'm curious what other types of programming do you do, especially given it's people from all over the world that you're trying to really connect with.
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so we definitely do this regular seminar series where we have faculty and graduate students and postdocs talk about their research and their journeys, but we also do a ton of different professional development workshops. So we have a variety of them anywhere, ranging from helping demystify the academic process. So things like the reviewer process, so for publications, or even how to do interviews.
So we did a series of interview preparation sessions where students who are applying for graduate school get some practice there. We've done personal statement workshops where people actually review and go over each other's statements. We've talked about funding to help support the scientific research that members in our community are doing. So we do a wide range of things. We just piloted a mentorship program as well. And so all of these different areas are really just meant to enhance the professional development of our community.
NINA MOINI: Sounds like a great resource. And folks might be listening and thinking, what exactly is neuroscience? Some people might just not know. So could you tell us a little bit about what it is. You mentioned your specific area that you're interested in. What is neuroscience and what are you working on currently?
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, great question. So the way I like to describe neuroscience to people who aren't familiar are most people know psychology, and most people know biology. And so it's just like a mesh between the two. Neuroscience actually started off as psychobiology.
So if you're interested in the brain and just understanding how things work, instead of just the human approach of how we're just interacting with each other, as neuroscientists, we really try to understand what's going on within the brain to help people understand those things.
And so there are a breadth of topics that are covered in neuroscience, anything from trying to understand how we sleep and how our brain functions during that process to neurodegeneration. So there are tons of neuroscientists who study Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease and all of those things, as well as neurodiversity. So autism and just ADHD and a wide range of other topics. And so neuroscientists cover the gamut within all of those different areas.
NINA MOINI: What drew you to this field?
ANGELINE DUKES: It was actually an accident. I didn't intend to fall into neuroscience. I realized halfway through college that I wanted to teach and I wanted to become a professor. And so I was really open to whatever field I was going to be in. I went to an HBCU for undergrad, Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
And it's a small liberal arts institution, so we didn't have neuroscience as a major or I didn't have any courses to take within neuroscience. So when I applied to graduate school, I just, I happened to end up in a departmental neuroscience PhD program, and that was the first time I actually take neuroscience-- I took a neuroscience course.
But it is the most amazing thing. And I'm a firm believer that anyone can learn neuroscience, even if you're listening to this and you're like, well, I don't know if neuroscience is for me. I promise, if you have any interest in just trying to understand why people are the way they are and how our brains work, you can learn neuroscience.
NINA MOINI: Well, that's very important. And I think that also speaks to why representation is important in this field. Why do you think representation is so important?
ANGELINE DUKES: Oh, it's incredibly important for a wide variety of reasons. One just so, as I mentioned, the next generation know that this is something that's attainable for them. Just knowing that it's a possibility makes a huge difference, but also, especially for the research that we do, and if we're doing research trying to understand how our brains work, it's really important that the community is properly represented. So by having study subjects that only come from one demographic, that is not effective in being able to properly understand exactly what's going on in all of these different conditions.
And so it's really important that we have good representation in our sample subjects so we can fully understand what might be the cause of different things, and especially with the diversity in the way that people grew up. All of those things play a huge factor in our understanding of what's actually going on within the brain.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. And before I let you go, I want you to obviously enjoy this moment. I hate to be a what's next, but I am wondering what is next for you. At the age of not even 30 yet, what's exciting about your future? What are you looking forward to?
ANGELINE DUKES: I'm really looking forward to being able to continue doing the amazing work that I do, both with Black In Neuro, and also here at the University of Minnesota. It's really been amazing to be able to support and nurture these next generation of scientists, and allowing them to feel empowered and to know that this is a space that is for them and they can grow and thrive here. And so I'm really excited to just be able to continue doing that work.
NINA MOINI: Angeline, pleasure talking with you today. Thanks for being here.
ANGELINE DUKES: Thank you so much.
NINA MOINI: And congratulations. That was Angeline Dukes, founder of Black In Neuro and an associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Minnesota who's been named to Forbes's 30 under 30 list.
ANGELINE DUKES: Thank you so much for having me.
NINA MOINI: Well, huge congratulations. Under 30, you're just starting out and already making such an amazing impact. When you found out you were on this list, how did it make you feel?
ANGELINE DUKES: Honestly, I was in disbelief at first. When I first got the email, it came very early in the morning, about 6 AM, and I thought it was just a little delirious, maybe a little sleepy. And so it took a little while for it to sink in.
NINA MOINI: Well, I'm not surprised because you're doing amazing work. Tell us a little bit about Black In Neuro and why you started it.
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, so Black In Neuro started in 2020. And in all honesty, it came from just, as during that time, it was in the midst of the pandemic, but it was also in the midst of a very public murders of Black people by the police in particular. And I was a graduate student at that time, in particular, I was one of two Black graduate students in my cohort in my PhD program, and there were no Black faculty within my department.
And so I just felt very isolated, and I wanted to connect with other Black people within the field so that I could find community support and to feel a little less isolated during this time. And so that's why Black In Neuro began, was really just this need to find comfort and support within our own communities.
It began as an online movement. So it started actually on Twitter. I sent a tweet out and that's how it got started. And since then it has grown immensely. We just intended to initially just do a week that would celebrate and highlight the research being done by Black scientists. Again, for our community to just find each other and get to know each other, because oftentimes it's just one or two Black people within any given neuroscience PhD program. And we really wanted to create this space where people could connect to each other. But after that initial week, we realized that we couldn't stop. And so it's grown immensely since then.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, I learned that it has 1,400 members across the world, 30 different countries. Why do you think that it did take off the way it did and it's resonated so much?
ANGELINE DUKES: I think that there are unique experiences that in particular people of color in any field deal with. And so being Black within the neurosciences is such a unique intersection of experiences, and finding people who just understand and are able to connect and provide advice is so essentially important. But even more than that, it's really important for the next generation to know that this is a possibility for them, and to see people who look like them thriving in this field.
NINA MOINI: Is there anyone that you've heard from that was just super cool, or you never thought you would talk to someone in this country or that, or any kind of happy surprises there?
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, there have been a lot of really amazing people I've been able to connect with through Black-owned or across multiple different continents. But in particular, some of my favorite rock star neuroscientists who are absolutely incredible, like Doctor Yasmin Hurd. She's at Mount Sinai, and she is just, like, a leader in the neuroscience field and particularly in the addiction field, which is what I got my PhD in. And absolutely incredible, Black women scientists.
And so being able to have conversations with her and learn more about her journeys and stories. And she even gave-- Black In Neuro does a series of different events, but one of them is a seminar series in which we have different Black scientists talk about not just their research, but also their journeys in the field. And so she was one of our seminar speakers, which was really incredible.
NINA MOINI: That is really cool. And you know there's a need for something when even people who are a really big deal in the field are checking it out. It gives it more visibility. So that's really neat. You mentioned a seminar series, and I'm curious what other types of programming do you do, especially given it's people from all over the world that you're trying to really connect with.
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so we definitely do this regular seminar series where we have faculty and graduate students and postdocs talk about their research and their journeys, but we also do a ton of different professional development workshops. So we have a variety of them anywhere, ranging from helping demystify the academic process. So things like the reviewer process, so for publications, or even how to do interviews.
So we did a series of interview preparation sessions where students who are applying for graduate school get some practice there. We've done personal statement workshops where people actually review and go over each other's statements. We've talked about funding to help support the scientific research that members in our community are doing. So we do a wide range of things. We just piloted a mentorship program as well. And so all of these different areas are really just meant to enhance the professional development of our community.
NINA MOINI: Sounds like a great resource. And folks might be listening and thinking, what exactly is neuroscience? Some people might just not know. So could you tell us a little bit about what it is. You mentioned your specific area that you're interested in. What is neuroscience and what are you working on currently?
ANGELINE DUKES: Yeah, great question. So the way I like to describe neuroscience to people who aren't familiar are most people know psychology, and most people know biology. And so it's just like a mesh between the two. Neuroscience actually started off as psychobiology.
So if you're interested in the brain and just understanding how things work, instead of just the human approach of how we're just interacting with each other, as neuroscientists, we really try to understand what's going on within the brain to help people understand those things.
And so there are a breadth of topics that are covered in neuroscience, anything from trying to understand how we sleep and how our brain functions during that process to neurodegeneration. So there are tons of neuroscientists who study Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease and all of those things, as well as neurodiversity. So autism and just ADHD and a wide range of other topics. And so neuroscientists cover the gamut within all of those different areas.
NINA MOINI: What drew you to this field?
ANGELINE DUKES: It was actually an accident. I didn't intend to fall into neuroscience. I realized halfway through college that I wanted to teach and I wanted to become a professor. And so I was really open to whatever field I was going to be in. I went to an HBCU for undergrad, Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
And it's a small liberal arts institution, so we didn't have neuroscience as a major or I didn't have any courses to take within neuroscience. So when I applied to graduate school, I just, I happened to end up in a departmental neuroscience PhD program, and that was the first time I actually take neuroscience-- I took a neuroscience course.
But it is the most amazing thing. And I'm a firm believer that anyone can learn neuroscience, even if you're listening to this and you're like, well, I don't know if neuroscience is for me. I promise, if you have any interest in just trying to understand why people are the way they are and how our brains work, you can learn neuroscience.
NINA MOINI: Well, that's very important. And I think that also speaks to why representation is important in this field. Why do you think representation is so important?
ANGELINE DUKES: Oh, it's incredibly important for a wide variety of reasons. One just so, as I mentioned, the next generation know that this is something that's attainable for them. Just knowing that it's a possibility makes a huge difference, but also, especially for the research that we do, and if we're doing research trying to understand how our brains work, it's really important that the community is properly represented. So by having study subjects that only come from one demographic, that is not effective in being able to properly understand exactly what's going on in all of these different conditions.
And so it's really important that we have good representation in our sample subjects so we can fully understand what might be the cause of different things, and especially with the diversity in the way that people grew up. All of those things play a huge factor in our understanding of what's actually going on within the brain.
NINA MOINI: Absolutely. And before I let you go, I want you to obviously enjoy this moment. I hate to be a what's next, but I am wondering what is next for you. At the age of not even 30 yet, what's exciting about your future? What are you looking forward to?
ANGELINE DUKES: I'm really looking forward to being able to continue doing the amazing work that I do, both with Black In Neuro, and also here at the University of Minnesota. It's really been amazing to be able to support and nurture these next generation of scientists, and allowing them to feel empowered and to know that this is a space that is for them and they can grow and thrive here. And so I'm really excited to just be able to continue doing that work.
NINA MOINI: Angeline, pleasure talking with you today. Thanks for being here.
ANGELINE DUKES: Thank you so much.
NINA MOINI: And congratulations. That was Angeline Dukes, founder of Black In Neuro and an associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Minnesota who's been named to Forbes's 30 under 30 list.
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