Eric Kenji Lee

Outreach & Mentorship

Pulling the ladder down, not up

Science is a pipeline with a lot of leaks, and a big part of why I'm still in it is the people who reached back to pull me forward. So mentoring and community-building aren't a sidebar to my work — they're part of it. I was lucky enough to be recognized with the ETC Excellence in Mentorship Award, and in 2026 I joined the COSYNE mentorship panel on supporting trainees at every stage.

Right now

I co-organized the COSYNE 2026 workshop “Bridging cell types and spike trains” (with Josh Siegle) and sat on the conference's mentorship panel, “Impacting our communities at every training stage.” I also help run the joint social life of the BU / Harvard / MIT neuroscience community as its social lead.

Mentorship

  • Boston University Graduate Mentors — Boston, MA
    Fall 2019 – Present
  • Científico Latino — GSMI / GSEC Mentor — National program
    Fall 2023 – Fall 2025
  • Puget Sound Alumni Mentor — Tacoma, WA
    Fall 2019 – Fall 2020
  • Take a Logger to Work Day Host — Tacoma, WA
    Fall 2015 – Fall 2019
  • Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Mentor — Seattle, WA
    Fall 2016 – Fall 2019

Community & service

  • BU / Harvard / MIT Neuroscience Joint Social Lead Coordinator
    Fall 2022 – Present
  • Graduate Student Union Representative — SEIU Local 509, Boston University
    Fall 2022 – Spring 2023
  • Curriculum Committee Member — University of Puget Sound
    Fall 2014 – Spring 2015