Abstract

Stories from the Lab is a podcast designed to increase the accessibility of psychology and neuroscience research opportunities for underrepresented students. This includes first-generation students, those from rural areas, and students from other marginalized backgrounds who may have had limited exposure to research opportunities in high school. The main purpose of the project was to reduce common barriers to research involvement, such as limited awareness of opportunities and lack of faculty connections, by sharing faculty members’ personal research experiences.

The podcast features multiple episodes, each highlighting different faculty members from various areas of psychology and neuroscience. In the episodes, faculty discuss their research, how they entered the field, challenges they encountered as students, and pathways for current undergraduates to become involved in their labs. The episodes were promoted with help from key campus partners, including TRIO programs, the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department, Residence Life, First-Gen Hawks, and faculty currently teaching entry-level coursework in psychology to ensure the content reached students who could benefit most.

To understand the podcast's impact, students were invited to complete a survey after listening. Those who responded were entered into a gift card raffle. The feedback from the survey showed that students found the format engaging and appreciated hearing about the personal experiences of faculty. Many reported feeling more encouraged to seek out research opportunities. Overall, this project used storytelling as a way to build a more welcoming research culture.

Keywords

Behavioral Science Research, Psychology, Neuroscience, Education, Podcast, Science Communication, Research Accessibility, STEM, Mentorship

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