About
Elyse Aurbach is a Co-Founder and Co-Director of the science communication organization RELATE (Researchers Expanding Lay-Audience Teaching and Engagement) and Lecturer with the University of Michigan Program in Biomedical Sciences. In these positions, Elyse develops curricula and trains faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students to more effectively communicate about science with non-scientists. She has a deep commitment to encouraging conversations between researchers and communities outside academia. As a former Co-Boss of Nerd Nite Ann Arbor and current Co-Director of RELATE, she facilitates public engagement events and enables her students and others to have the opportunity to practice communicating their research with public audiences.
After completing her PhD in neuroscience, Elyse became a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute at the University of Michigan, where she investigates the role of growth factors in the development and possible treatment of major depression using “big data,” behavioral, and molecular approaches. A former NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Elyse’s strong dual passions of scientific research and public engagement with science drive her current efforts.