Hello!

My name is Riley Elmer, and I am the elected student president, or “Czarina,” of the program’s student body, referred to as the Neuroscience Graduate Forum (NGF) (It can be a bit confusing, so just a recap: NGP is the PhD Program, and NGF is the student body). You automatically become a member of NGF just by being accepted into NGP!

The purpose of NGF is to:

• Foster a supportive community among the graduate student neuroscientists at USC

• Support students in their transition into graduate school, navigation during graduate school, and preparation for life after graduate school

We accomplish this through professional development resources, social events, mentoring opportunities, networking, outreach, and more. There is an elected NGF Executive Committee that assists with carrying out these visions and goals (a committee that I seriously recommend you consider joining at some point in your time here!), but every member of NGF is critical to accomplishing our goals and purpose.

As the president, I work with the rest of the NGF committee to ensure that we are in line with NGF’s purpose. This year, our executive committee has created a 2024-2025 NGF Vision, “Connect & Empower: Building Community + Professional Development“.

Allow me to introduce the officers of the 2024-2025 NGF Executive Committee:

• Professional Development Chairs: Gaon Kim, Jessica Morrel, & Suhani Amin
• Social Programming Officers: Joshua Martinez, Tamara Jafar, Zoe Tsokolas, & Cenk Akiz
• New Student Liaisons: Danielle Luu & Karel Aceituno
• NGF Ambassador: Hailey Adney
• Historian and Social Media Coordinator: Isabelle Young & Emma Carpenter

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please feel free to reach out via email (uscngf@usc.edu). As officers of NGF, we are always happy to help in any way that we can to ensure that everyone has the opportunity for a successful graduate experience! On behalf of all of us at NGF, we welcome you to the USC family!

Riley