Update on ENIGMA-U: A Free Online Resource for Increasing Representation in Neuroimaging Research
Presented During:
Wednesday, June 25, 2025: 5:45 PM - 7:00 PM
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Room:
M4 (Mezzanine Level)
Poster No:
585
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Emily Dennis1, Frank Hillary2, Carrie Esopenko3, Paul Thompson4, Elisabeth Wilde1
Institutions:
1University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 3Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai, New York, NY, 4University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
As with many scientific fields, neuroscience and neuroimaging have disproportionately fewer individuals from historically excluded groups (HEGs). There are many sources of this discrepancy across all levels of academia, but one significant barrier to entry is access to mentorship. Neuroimaging is a multidisciplinary field requiring knowledge from a wide range of areas, which makes it difficult for students to begin their studies as they are dependent on a mentor to teach them the foundational information and/or guide them on what skills to acquire. Providing curated access to information may help bridge this gap and provide students a springboard for further opportunities.
Methods:
ENIGMA-U is a free, online school hosted by the Unik Learning Management System that is focused on neuroimaging fundamentals. Geared toward advanced high school/entry-level university students, ENIGMA-U covers topics such as neuroanatomy, brain development, computer programming, statistics, and clinical disorders, along with practical information on careers and school/job applications. Students who enroll for credit will complete ~70 hours of lectures along with quizzes and receive a certificate of completion detailing the modules completed and the quiz scores. Videos have also been made freely available on YouTube. While ENIGMA-U is primarily presented by academic researchers, non-academic career paths are also discussed. We are in the process of adding English captions and transcripts for all videos.
In addition to course lectures, interviews with scientists are available, including people in and outside of academia, at multiple career stages, with a variety of backgrounds and research topics. Course feedback is collected to improve the offerings and track satisfaction with the material. After enrolling, two surveys are sent to students that are optional and anonymous, to assess student demographics and course accessibility. A survey was also sent to potential mentors to assess current gaps in bringing on new mentees.
In addition to course lectures, interviews with scientists are available, including people in and outside of academia, at multiple career stages, with a variety of backgrounds and research topics. Course feedback is collected to improve the offerings and track satisfaction with the material. After enrolling, two surveys are sent to students that are optional and anonymous, to assess student demographics and course accessibility. A survey was also sent to potential mentors to assess current gaps in bringing on new mentees.
Results:
ENIGMA-U launched on Sept 2, 2022, and as of Dec 1, 2024, 53.5 hours of lectures have been created with the neuroimaging module launching at the end of December. Over 1,200 students from 84 countries have registered. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with many students reaching out to express their appreciation for the resource. Of students who have responded, 30% are from low and lower-middle income countries as classified by the World Bank, 62% are non-white, 62% are not native English speakers, and 36% have parents with a high-school education or less. Primary languages of students include Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, French, Hindi, Japanese, Mandarin, Marathi, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, Telugu, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Yoruba.
In the survey of potential mentors to determine the main barriers in taking on new mentees, 58% responded it takes too long to train, 28% say they cannot find motivated students, 44% responded they had limited time to supervise, 22% stated they had too many experiences training someone only to have them leave, 16% were not sure which projects they could work on, and 10% stated funding was an issue. However, 90% responded that they thought ENIGMA-U would help students. A preliminary survey has yielded 76 researchers who would be willing to take on a mentee who had completed ENIGMA-U for an internship.
In the survey of potential mentors to determine the main barriers in taking on new mentees, 58% responded it takes too long to train, 28% say they cannot find motivated students, 44% responded they had limited time to supervise, 22% stated they had too many experiences training someone only to have them leave, 16% were not sure which projects they could work on, and 10% stated funding was an issue. However, 90% responded that they thought ENIGMA-U would help students. A preliminary survey has yielded 76 researchers who would be willing to take on a mentee who had completed ENIGMA-U for an internship.
Conclusions:
The immense and positive response to ENIGMA-U highlights the need for resources like this, while the diversity of students who have registered for the course so far suggests that this may be an effective tool in improving HEGs representation in neuroimaging. As further material is added, we will increase outreach to HEGs. We are also pursuing funding to establish the eventual ENIGMA-U Internship Network and are happy to hear from investigators who may be interested in contributing.
Education, History and Social Aspects of Brain Imaging:
Education, History and Social Aspects of Brain Imaging 1
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
Multi-Modal Imaging 2
Keywords:
Other - Education
1|2Indicates the priority used for review