YDPCoburg
Internship Highlights
Dr. James Giordano
Neuroaesthetics
Peer-to-Peer Partnerships
Experts & Mentors
I had the chance to work and collaborate directly with Dr. James Giordano, Chief of Georgetown University’s Neuroethics Studies Program.
In addition to his involvement with a variety of educational institutions, Dr. Giordano is the author of over 350 publications in neuroscience and neuroethics.
During our first meeting, Dr. Giordano guided us through an exploration of our own brains, minds, and selves, probing for the problems, meanings, and questions within the world that surrounds us.
In subsequent meetings, Dr. Giordano frequently prompted both introspection and extrospection to encourage familiarity with the our own minds, as well as our environment, and how the two can interact to our benefit.
Throughout this internship, we were encouraged to grapple with the power and influence that science and technology hold.
Dr. Michael Henrich, Professor and Dean of Students at Coburg University, gave us a practical demonstration of this power and influence by introducing us to the field of neuroaesthetics.
This field aims to discover the universal laws underlying the finding of beauty and justify them through neurobiology. It is derived from foundational ideas of perceptual psychology, evolutionary biology, functional anatomy, cultural anthropology, and neurological methods.
When applied to architecture, neuroaesthetics can facilitate the creation of built environments that promote the harmonious balance of all aspects of wellbeing.
I had the chance to work with Dr. Nikola Kohls, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Applied Science in Coburg, Germany. His works focus on the intersection of spirituality and mindfulness with neurological processes and psychophysiological pathways.
Dr. Kohls used his expertise to teach us about the science behind making a group work and how we can apply this information to make good group work happen.
This knowledge was incredibly pertinent to our internship work as we partnered with interns from the Leadership Initiatives’ Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship.
My time with my international peers allowed me to gain cross-cultural competence in regards to collaboration, innovation, and design.
Along with Dr. Giordano, I had the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Justin Rossi, who taught us about the research proposal we would need to design and develop.
Dr. Rossi also introduced us to the social, historical, and pathological understandings of what constitutes “normal” as well as how we see spectrums and selection in the range of global health contexts.
In addition to Dr. Rossi, my team met directly with Carmine Carullo, former Planning and Performance Manager at ExxonMobil and current Manager of Medicine and Occupational Health, and Bill Stefan, a Senior Executive in the U.S. Federal Government.
Mr. Carullo and Mr. Stefan spoke of and demonstrated the leadership and resilience required to achieve our ambitions.