University: Lafayette College
Hometown: Warminster, PA
NIH Research Project:
Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain Activity in Mouse Brain
Mentor: TBA
|
|
 |
During my first dissection, I fell in love with exploring the complex interior of the organism and with the surgical procedure. I proceeded to take every class I could that included dissections, and I shadowed several surgeons, excitedly recounting what I saw to anyone who would listen. I was almost certain that I was bound for a career in medicine, but I was also very interested in the etiology of disease, particularly of neurodegenerative diseases. I wanted to experience research before I solidified my future plans.
I could not have asked for a better first research experience than in Dr. Kevin LaBar's laboratory at Duke University. He and his lab patiently taught me about research and showed me how much fun it can be. Intrigued, I spent the next summer in Dr. Gabrielle Britton's laboratory at Lafayette College, where I investigated the effect of Ritalin on fear conditioning in rats.
I then completed a senior honors thesis at Lafayette College on Parkinson's disease under Dr. Elaine Reynolds, and her mentoring solidified my desire to include research in my career plans. She allowed me to independently come up with an original project, and the knowledge that I could do this gave me the confidence that I could someday do independent research. I quickly found myself talking about my project with the same passion with which I talked about surgery.
I recently graduated from Lafayette, and through the NIH UGSP I am continuing to investigate the etiology of Parkinson's disease in Dr. Robert Nussbaum's lab in the National Human Genome Research Institute. I then plan to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. |
