The Grey Matter Project

The Grey Matter Project is a network of high school neuroscience clubs that is organized and run by the Yale Department of Neurology. The Project’s goal is to provide quality neuroscience exposure to high school students of diverse backgrounds. It was founded by Sreya Devarakonda and Sara Schaefer, MD, MHS. Sreya was the founder and club president for her own Neurology Club at Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Va. Along with Dr. Schaefer, she decided to make a club structure for anyone, anywhere!

Each club chapter is managed by internal school leadership (teacher advisor, president, vice president, etc.) and there is central leadership for the entire Grey Matter Project to oversee the distribution of materials and organization of events.

The Yale Department of Neurology provides an annual schedule of events that include virtual lectures and career panels across a variety of neuroscience topics. Lectures and career panels are given by neuroscience faculty and providers mostly from the Yale School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Hospital. Each month focuses on one specific neuroscience topic. Some months include activities for which The Grey Matter Project provides instructions (videos, handouts) and the activities can be completed at each club’s convenience. See the “Structure” tab for more information on the schedule of events.

Additional materials of interest such as articles and websites will be provided to club membership periodically to enhance your learning and your experience.

Here is a sample annual calendar of events including general topic, lecture, activity, and career panel. This is an illustrative outline and is subject to change:

Month	Topic	Lecture	Activity	Career Panel
October	Basic	Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology	Neuro Jeopardy	Neuroscience researchers
November	Jump starting your career	None	Osmotic gradients	Neurology nurses and Neuroscience College Majors
December	Child Neurology	Neurodevelopment	Building a brain with playdoh	Pediatric Neurologists
January	The Neuro exam	The Neuro exam	Performing a neuro exam	Outpatient Neurologists
February	Cognitive neurology	Cognitive features and testing	MOCA/MMSE and relation to anatomy and brain function	Neuropsychologists
March	Stroke	What is a stroke?	NIHSS or Stroke syndrome anatomy game	Inpatient / Vascular / Neuro ICU Neurologists
April	Technology and the brain	Deep brain stimulation and functional neurosurgery	TBD	Functional Neuro / neurosurgery
May	Peripheral nervous system	Diseases of the PNS	TBD	Neurorehabilitation providers
June	Epilepsy	What is a seizure?	Neurology card games	Epileptologists and epilepsy-adjacent fields (EEG tech, epilepsy neurosurgery)

The Grey Matter Project encourages club member engagement through its own Discord Server. Once you or your club sign up for the mailing list, the Discord link will be provided. Say hi, network, ask questions, nerd out about neuroscience, or all of the above! The Grey Matter Project also has a YouTube channel and Google Classroom. Once you or your club sign up for the mailing list, the links will be provided.

We encourage all teachers, advisors, and students to sign up for our mailing list so you can stay up-to-date on all club communications, events, resources, and extras. Sign up for the mailing list by emailing greymatterproject@yale.edu with your name, role (teacher, club leader, student), school, and state, and we will add you to the list! In order to participate, a parent or guardian must sign our standard release form and online program permission form. Please include both completed forms in your email to us.

Any interested student can start a local chapter at his/her/their school if one does not already exist. Each school has its own protocol for this, and students should follow their school’s policy.