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
Luca Di Mario’s PhD in Engineering focused on sustainable business models for turning solid waste and waste water in developing countries into a useful resource, such as energy. That work […]
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Gates Cambridge Scholar Emily Kassie spoke about her award-winning documentary film Sugarcane at a screening in Cambridge this week. Sugarcane won the US Documentary Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this […]
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An interactive and immersive digital twin project for real time monitoring of buildings was a finalist for the AI Innovation Award at the UK National AI Awards. The project used […]
Gates Cambridge Scholar Emily Kassie will be screening and speaking about her award-winning documentary film Sugarcane in Cambridge next week. Sugarcane won the US Documentary Directing Award at the Sundance […]