EPILOGUE
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF NEUROSCIENCE PROGRESS
A History of the Society for Neuroscience
ANNIVERSARIES ENCOURAGE REFLECTION— and this essay has offered the opportunity to look back on the history of the Society with an eye to celebrating what’s to come. As Neuroscience 2020 approached and SfN celebrated its 50th year as a Society, events didn’t quite follow the original vision. SfN’s 50th year, so thoughtfully planned and considered, served as a reminder that you cannot plan for everything. In January 2020, news outlets in the United States first started reporting about a novel coronavirus circulating in China. By March, COVID-19, the disease resulting from that coronavirus, was declared a global pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of cases around the world. Things changed quickly with regards to the Society’s day-to-day business. Washington, D.C., where SfN is headquartered, saw cases rising rapidly and began a “stay-at-home” order that lasted for months. SfN staff began working remotely full-time, like most offices worldwide. Meanwhile, labs around the globe shut down in a matter of days, suspending research without a clear picture of how or when things would restart. A pandemic on the scale of COVID-19 is a once-ina-generation upheaval that rattled the foundation of cultures worldwide. It also brought into focus the ongoing importance of science. In the words of Barry Everitt, SfN President, in his spring 2020 Neuroscience Quarterly letter: “I am reminded in this time of the value of scientific exchange for the world at large.” While some researchers left the lab to serve on the front lines, using their specialized training to save lives; still others were called into the all-hands search for a vaccine or medical treatment. Labs donated personal protective equipment to those on the frontlines at hospitals and healthcare facilities—signaling that
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overall, neuroscientists were leaders in understanding we are all in this together. The Society continued to think creatively about how to support members and the field. Through upheaval and uncertainty, planning for the future required adaptability and creative thinking, as well as focusing on the core of SfN’s mission: advancing scientific exchange, supporting the neuroscience community, educating and engaging the public, and advocating for the field. SfN, like many other organizations, ensured that virtual offerings were front and center, while continuing to build out the infrastructure to support members worldwide without the need to travel. With the global pause to business requiring everyone to freeze in place, SfN was well-positioned to continue to support its global membership with digital programs and content, as well as bringing neuroscience content to the scienceinterested public through BrainFacts.org. In the vein of large-scale creative thinking, SfN continued to push forward in celebrating the field. Debuting at Neuroscience 2019, the innovative installation Neuro Space took visitors through a technology-based evolution of how scientists view neurons as a meditation on the power of art to reflect those structures we have come to find through science—while also illuminating the vastness of what remains unknown. Neuro Space was the first collaboration between SfN and ARTECHOUSE—a 21st century innovative art exhibition dedicated to showcasing the work of new media artists and producing cutting-edge art exhibitions that merge art, technology, and science. The Neuro Space exhibit brought together a group of scientists led by Dr. John Morrison of the University of California, Davis; and
