Interview with Dr. Rosanna Olsen, 2024 Winner of the Diversity & Inclusivity Champion Award
Author: Ashley Tyrer
Editor: Simon R. Steinkamp
Dr. Rosanna Olsen is the recipient of the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) Diversity and Inclusivity Champion Award at the 2024 annual meeting held in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Olsen is the leader and director of the Olsen Lab, based at the Rotman Research Institute (RRI) at Baycrest and is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. After receiving her PhD in Psychology with a main focus on cognitive neuroscience from Stanford University in California, she completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest.
Research in the Olsen Lab is directed toward understanding the representational nature and neural organization of human memories. They employ high-resolution structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), eye movement monitoring, and studies with amnesia patients to investigate memory formation, retention, and retrieval. Dr. Olsen’s research has contributed to the emerging consensus that the hippocampus — an area of the brain that has long been implicated in supporting long-term memory — also contributes to other cognitive functions that require the flexible connection (i.e., binding) and comparison of new and old information.
In an active effort to promote inclusion and diversity, Dr. Olsen served from 2016-2023 on the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee at OHBM, and is a mentor for female students at the University of Toronto through the Scientista Foundation, which provides advice and support for women in science and engineering. She has also participated in scientific outreach activities that serve to engage female undergraduate students in science. Overall, Dr. Olsen’s lab strives to provide a training environment that is inclusive, embraces diversity and encourages women and other minorities to pursue their career aspirations.
The Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award recognizes Dr. Olsen’s significant contributions to increasing diversity and inclusivity within the field of human brain mapping. We had the honor of interviewing Dr. Olsen, reflecting on her vision for a more inclusive scientific community.
1. In what ways has the OHBM community been successful in improving diversity and inclusion?
The OHBM program committee has made major improvements to the way that speakers are selected for the Talairach and Keynote lectures. The program and education committees take into consideration multiple dimensions of diversity when selecting the content for the annual meeting.
The OHBM Diversity committee has provided a yearly symposium, which has provided really important Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) content at the annual meeting. In addition, we have also seen an increase in member-driven symposia that have covered topics related to diversity. For example, in Montreal, Udunno Anazodo and others on the Local Organizing Committee discussed the development of MRI research in African countries in the symposium called, “NeuroImaging in a Globally Connected World.”
The annual “Brain Mappers of Tomorrow” event sponsored by the Diversity and Inclusivity committee is a joy to participate in each year. I have been the facilitator for several of the English language and Spanish language presentations over the past three years. In our English session, we have facilitated in person lectures for several classrooms in Toronto as well as a live-stream to several classrooms in Ghana, Africa. The children ask such great questions and I hope that we’ve inspired some of them to pursue further education and potentially careers in science (or even neuroscience!).
2. Where do you think there's room for improvement, and do you have any ideas about the best ways to get there?
Yes, there is still a lack of participation from scientists outside of North America, Europe and Australia. I’m looking forward to OHBM 2027 which will take place in Panama City. I expect that having a conference in Latin America will allow OHBM to showcase the research of members from that region.
I would love to see live captioning available for all of the talks at OHBM. There have been tremendous improvements in captioning technology over the past five years and I hope that we can make this routine at our annual conference.
3. What do you think are some of the biggest barriers academic institutions need to overcome to become more inclusive and diverse?
Unfortunately, I think there are still some people who believe that increasing diversity is by definition detrimental to “excellence.” I think that changing that mindset is a really important step that individuals and institutions need to undertake if they are going to become truly inclusive to those who have been traditionally excluded from academia.
4. Do you have any specific organizations, initiatives, or institutions in mind that you think are doing a really good job with diversity and inclusion? Examples we should look to for inspiration?
The Black in Neuro community is a group that I admire and I think they have taken an excellent approach. The organizers have developed a really great community of Black Neuroscientists and allies that support each other.
5. How do you plan to continue your work to improve diversity and inclusion, both in your own lab and in your institution as a whole?
I have a very diverse lab, which reflects the incredible, beautiful diversity of the city where I live, Toronto, Canada. In fact, over 50% of the population of Toronto were born outside of Canada! I try to regularly remind my lab members that they are welcome to express their true identity in my lab no matter their gender, religion, ethnic background, culture, or sexual orientation.
6. What advice would you give to young researchers who may feel alienated by the lack of inclusion in their lab, department, or field?
I’ve been there, and it’s not a great feeling. Sometimes you might have to look outside of your immediate lab or department to find mentors that you can lean on for support. The OHBM mentor program is a great resource for this!
