When Indira finished high school in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she was not planning to attend college and now is an emerging thought leader in brain health disparities across race and ethnicity. She is currently a postdoctoral research scientist at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. She earned her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Pennsylvania State University. Her work aims to identify the underlying molecular, structural, and functional neural architecture of disparities in dementia and the sociocultural factors that contribute to these inequalities.⁣

We discussed her journey to graduate school as a Black Caribbean woman, specifically the way she explored different research experiences, which ultimately led her to discovering her interest in cognitive neuroscience. Throughout Indira's story she shed light on the importance of staying open to different opportunities while paying attention to the things that interest you. This advice doesn't just apply to picking and pursuing your graduate degree, Indira was intentional about fostering a community throughout her graduate journey and continues to do so as co-founder of U.N.I.T.Y.

Listen in to learn more about finding your research interest, finding your tribe, and more.

Follow Indira on Instagram and Twitter @indiraturney and Unity on Instagram @unity4bipoc