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
Researchers have conducted a detailed study of the protein structures behind diseases including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, which could open up new avenues for research and potential treatment. The study, Structure […]
Gates Cambridge scholar Talia Gershon has won the Tomorrow’s Answers Today 2012 UK Poster Competition for her research on sustainable solar energy. For her poster presentation Talia [2008], who is studying […]
Over 250 academics, business and social leaders and Gates Cambridge Alumni and Scholars attended the unveiling of the new vision for the Gates Cambridge Scholarships on Friday. At the event, […]
A 20 minute film setting out the achievements of the Gates Cambridge programme and its vision for the future, screened at the event of the same name on 1 June […]
Should people who are addicted to or might become addicted to drugs be given a vaccine to combat substance-use disorders or could this create new ethical problems? A new article […]
Gates Cambridge alumnus Matt Varilek has been nominated as the Democratic challenger for South Dakota’s seat in the House of Representatives. Matt has defeated Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth in […]
Five Gates Cambridge scholars presented their research to Bill Gates senior, other trustees, trust officers and scholars on Thursday. The Scholars’ Symposium encompassed research on subjects ranging from the links […]
Leaders from academia, industry, politics and the charity sector will gather in Cambridge today to celebrate the achievements and impact of the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. Guests at the June 1 […]
It took me a while to realise I was standing ninety centimetres from eleven Somali pirates. On 12 October 2011, I was seeking shelter from the sun on a shaded […]
Sarah Mummah was just an undergraduate when she set up her own non-profit tutoring and mentoring organisation and has built it up into an award-winning project with a team of […]