I grew up catching praying mantises and damselflies in rural Kentucky. As an undergraduate at Centre College, I majored in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; I spent my summers taking care of sick children at the Center for Courageous Kids and doing research in organic chemistry and neuroscience. I matriculated directly to the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed my first three years of medical school. I then moved to Janelia Research Campus as a HHMI Medical Research Fellow; there I studied the neural and genetic bases of behavior. As a PhD student in Zoology, I will study adaptive behavior. All animals integrate information about past experience into future decisions; this is the basis of learning and memory. I am proposing to write a specific memory and read the memory trace in the brain. I will use the fruit fly as a model organism. By understanding mechanisms of memory storage, we can begin to investigate changes in memory formation in disease; this may allow us to develop rational therapies for disorders of memory formation, including autism and Alzheimer’s disease. After completing my PhD, I will return to finish my last year of medical school and pursue a career as a child neurologist and neuroscientist, using my lab to better understand the patients I see in clinic.
Centre College
B cells produce antibodies and play a vital role in human immunity. Despite the importance of these cells, there are still a lot of questions about the role of B […]
Why is understanding past oceans crucial for sustainability? How neutral is science? Is music a language? What helps us to understand what we read? These and many more fascinating questions […]
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has shed new light on an important G protein-coupled receptor [GPCR] which could help researchers to better understand and treat fungal diseases such as candidiasis and […]
Gates Cambridge Provost Professor Barry Everitt has expressed the Trust’s sadness at the death of Dr Jonathan Nicholls, former Secretary to the Trust and former Registrary of the University. He […]
Erin Hayes is fascinated by how and why the universe came into being and how it is evolving. Her PhD in Astronomy, which she begins in the autumn, aims to […]
A Gates Cambridge Scholar has been elected as a Vice Chairman of an International Telecommunications Union study group. Pradipta Biswas [2006] has been elected Vice Chairman of the ITU Study […]
Two Gates Cambridge Scholars will be speaking on gender equality issues at this year’s Cambridge Festival in April. Professor Jennifer Piscopo, Director of the Center for Research and Scholarship at […]
Clara Ma has been aware of the importance of addressing climate change from an early age. She recalls reading a special issue of Time magazine in 2009 on climate change […]
The common narrative that the pandemic has had overwhelmingly negative effects on the lives of children and young people might not tell the full story. In fact, it seems as […]
Humanitarian responders and policy makers need to address the political and practical barriers that mean refugees are excluded from veterinary and agriculture support, heightening the risk of zoonotic disease, according to […]