Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40740546›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neuroinformatics2025

Breaking barriers: broadening neuroscience education via cloud platforms and course-based undergraduate research.

Franco Delogu, Chantol Aspinall, Kimberly Ray, Anibal Solon Heinsfeld, Conner Victory, Franco Pestilli

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neuroinformatics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Use of a Smartphone-Based App in an Online Behavioral Neuroscience Lab Course.Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Franco DeloguDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Communication, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI, United States.
Chantol AspinallDepartment of Humanities, Social Sciences and Communication, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI, United States.
Kimberly RayDepartment of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
Anibal Solon HeinsfeldDepartment of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.
Conner VictoryDepartment of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, NY, United States.
Franco PestilliDepartment of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating cloud computing platforms with Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) to broaden access to neuroscience education. Over four consecutive spring semesters (2021-2024), a total of 42 undergraduate students at Lawrence Technological University participated in computational neuroscience CUREs using brainlife.io, a cloud-computing platform. Students conducted anatomical and functional brain imaging analyses on openly available datasets, testing original hypotheses about brain structure variations. The program evolved from initial data processing to hypothesis-driven research exploring the influence of age, gender, and pathology on brain structures. By combining open science and big data within a user-friendly cloud environment, the CURE model provided hands-on, problem-based learning to students with limited prior knowledge. This approach addressed key limitations of traditional undergraduate research experiences, including scalability, early exposure, and inclusivity. Students consistently worked with MRI datasets, focusing on volumetric analysis of brain structures, and developed scientific communication skills by presenting findings at annual research days. The success of this program demonstrates its potential to democratize neuroscience education, enabling advanced research without extensive laboratory facilities or prior experience, and promoting original undergraduate research using real-world datasets.

Indexed as

brainlife.iobroadening participation in computingCUREhuman brain parcellationhuman brain volumetryopen-access neuroscience databasesproject based active learningsMRI

Identifiers

PMID40740546
PMCPMC12307389

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.