Ask Why: Briana Chen on Love of Learning; Questioning in Order to Grow and Find Motivation; and Giving Back by Thinking of the Underprivileged

Dr. Briana Chen is a postdoctoral neuroscientist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she researches sex differences in stress resistance and psychiatric disorders. Briana is particularly interested in developing sex-specific treatments for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. She won numerous awards for her scientific work and was included in Forbes 2023 list of 30 under 30. Briana shares her Chinese mom May's lessons on the value of education, continuous learning, and curiosity about the world; about how important it is to question things and to always try understanding the “why” – as Briana explained, this helps her to find motivation for her scientific work and for pursuing grants and awards for her research. Finally, we learn about giving back – for Briana, it meant using her research to support those who are often overseen by the scientific and medical establishment – in her case, women.

To learn more about Briana and her work, please visit her website here. 

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