NeuroBoricuas: A Culturally Rooted Approach to Neuroscience Outreach and Research Training

Puerto Rico's cultural identity, shaped by Taíno heritage, Spanish colonization, and US governance, emphasizes family, music, food, and collective participation. Drawing on these traditions, we developed NeuroBoricuas, a grassroots neuroscience education movement that reimagines outreach through cultural metaphors of parrandas and peer teaching. What began as a reflection on conventional Brain Awareness Week evolved into student-led demonstrations, the creation of the first neuroscience laboratory in a Puerto Rican high school, and a network of university chapters and high school clubs across the Island. These groups lead workshops, classroom visits, and community events, positioning students as both learners and teachers of neuroscience. A partnership with Backyard Brains provided affordable, hands-on tools that made neuroscience tangible for K-12 and university students, while events such as Explora tu Cerebro en la SanSe integrated science into Puerto Rico's most iconic cultural festival. To extend beyond outreach, the Bravo Lab Immersive Summer Program (BLISP) was launched in 2022, immersing undergraduates in advanced approaches including optogenetics, fiber photometry, and behavioral assays. BLISP emphasizes mentoring and peer-to-peer training, building confidence and scientific identity while creating pathways to graduate training. Recent collaborations, including NeuroBridges with the University of California, Irvine, have further expanded opportunities for Puerto Rican students through international partnerships. Together, NeuroBoricuas and BLISP demonstrate a scalable model of science education rooted in culture, identity, and community. Like a parranda, this movement grows as new voices join in, showing that neuroscience thrives when it is shared, celebrated, and carried forward collectively.