Get to Know The Creator of Neuroscience Mama

"Neuroscience Mama" was created by occupational therapy student Alaina Nickerl in 2026 as part of her doctoral capstone project at Georgia State University. Alaina has been passionate about working with babies and families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), since childhood. Growing up in Roseville, California as the eldest granddaughter in a very large close-knit family, Alaina spent countless hours at her local hospital visiting new babies and listening to the stories the women in her family would tell about their experiences of motherhood. The hospital has always held a special place in her heart, as it reminds her of the women in her family that she was able to see create, carry, deliver, and nurture life. Alaina is passionate about providing education for young mothers and families on the benefits that kangaroo mother care (KMC) or skin-to-skin contact (SSC) can provide, especially during the first hour after birth. When Alaina is away from her books & lectures, she loves spending time with her college sweetheart Jacob, baking cinnamon rolls, visiting family in North Carolina & Utah, ocean swims, writing children's stories, and taking her Australian Shepherd Ollie for walks!