Donate
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Donate ✩
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Support Science
& Roller Derby
Why give?
Support Astro Fight’s Education Mission
The Brains&Bruises Blog is committed to leveraging the sport of roller derby to demystify the brain, de-stigmatize the disorders that affect it, and direct would be roller derby community members to pursue research as a career. We also aim to amplify the sport of roller derby and the leagues that make up this incredible community of humans. We do this several ways, including through the blog, by creating derby-related brain educational content, and by hosting demonstration tables at derby/community events.
Currently, the costs of these activities are self-funded and paid out of pocket. Your donation will support supply/resource development/travel costs associated with our brain education mission, allowing us to inspire and benefit more people.
A future goal is to create children’s books about the brain and roller derby and to either give these books away at demo tables or to donate these books to derby leagues to sell at their merch tables, thereby helping to support their operations.
Support Dr. Liz’s Research
As well, as readers of this blog know, we fully support science and work hard to conduct rigorous research while encouraging folks to pursue this rewarding job. However, Dr. Liz’s profession is currently being threatened*** with budget cuts and funding restrictions that:
1) limit her ability to discover medical breakthroughs that save lives,
2) restrict her training of the next generation of scientist and diversifying the scientific workforce, and
3) put the viability of her lab and her academic career at risk.
In light of these escalating risks, please consider donating to the Brains&Bruises Blog in support of Liz’s Lab scientific research program.
Your donation will support our team in advancing their experiments, working towards their milestones and contributing knowledge that could potentially lead to medical breakthroughs that change lives. Every contribution, big or small, helps support Liz’s Lab members to purchase of equipment, acquire key reagents, and train the next generation of passionate researchers dedicated to discovery.
Other Ways You Can Help
In addition to the above, you can take an active role in helping the biomedical research and the roller derby community! Some ideas include:
volunteering for your local roller derby team
participating as a research subject in an experiment or clinical trial, especially if you have a diverse perspective or marginalized identity
donating to WFTDA, Society for Neuroscience, or other professional organizations that advocate for these causes
regularly advocating to your elected officials at every level of government and telling them you DO support medical research and DON’T support bigotry
*** See below articles for more info:
NIH Banning Federal Funding for Universities with DEI/Israel Boycotts
Increases in Taxes on University Endowments
Procedural Approaches to Dismantle Federal Research Funding Infrastructure
NIH Canceling Funded Grants Doing Corona Virus or Perceived DEI Work
Astro Fight and daughter, Little Star, host a brain table at the Perot Museum in Dallas, Tx in 2022. There they taught about the parts of the roller brain and protect it. Dr. Liz’s life sized statue, made as part of her role as an IF/THEN Ambassador of STEM education, is in the background.
In partnership with Jackson Roller Derby, Little Star shows some sports enthusiasts how to make a pipe cleaner neuron at a brain table at the Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Jackson, MS in 2024.
Giving FAQs
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Conducting research and training scholars is expensive so your donation to the lab will be put to good use. Donations will always be used to support costs directly associated with neuroscience research, training or education. For instance, we will use your donation to acquire a critical supply needed to test our hypothesis. This could be consumables such as pipette tips or Petri dishes, or experimental test subjects.
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Absolutely! We want you to be a partner in the research process with us. If you wish, you are welcome to select from the following donation categories:
1 - Data Analysis & Dissemination
2 - Equipment & Instrumentation
3 - Community Neuroscience Education
4 - Supplies & Reagents
5 - Training & Trainee Development
6 - Whatever is most needed right now
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No amount is too small to help move our lab’s mission forward and we appreciate anything you are willing and able to contribute.
To give you a sense of the cost of things in research, to purchase one standard mouse for an experiment costs about $50. A tube of antibody to help us measure levels of a certain protein in the brain can cost ~$500. A finely tuned pipette set costs $2,500. A fluorescence microscope costs nearly $18,000. The salary of a laboratory staff member starts at $35,000 per year.
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You are our partner in the pursuit of excellent science and we want to show you how you have helped us.
When we spend your donation, we will send you a picture of us working with whatever you purchased for us. We will be happy to list your name in the acknowledgments section of every research paper or book we publish with your help. We would also love to give you a special call out on our lab social media platforms and of course, you will be listed as a donor on the website. If you want to come for a visit, we would LOVE to host you on the track or in the lab.
Whatever you are comfortable with we are happy to consider and we are open to suggestions within reason so feel free to tell us how you would like to be appreciated!
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If you are interested in donating to Liz’s Lab, please send us an email through the Contact page or you can email the Lab Leader, Dr. Liz directly at eenglerchiurazzi@tulane.edu. You should hear back from us within 48 hours.