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Student Projects

Cheyanne Godwin '16Cheyanne Godwin ’16

Cheyanne is a Senior here at Simpson College studying Biology and Neuroscience. After graduation this spring Cheyanne will be taking the MCAT and working in a research lab while  beginning her applications to MD/Ph.D. programs across the country. Cheyanne hopes to obtain her Ph.D. in Neuroscience along with her MD and become a Neurosurgeon. She is also currently an Associate Editor for Impulse, an undergraduate Neuroscience journal. What this entails is reviewing research articles that Impulse receives and suggest edits that should be made prior to publishing. She will fulfill these responsibilities with the help of an editing team and faculty advisor.


Laura Alt and Laken Baird are conducting research on the genetic components of behavior in zebrafish in Dr. Brittingham’s developmental biology laboratory. They hope that their work will not only reveal novel components of zebrafish behavior in response to stress, but also contribute insights into the genetic basis of human behavior.

Laura Alt '16Laura Alt ’16

Laura  is a junior majoring in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Mathematics. She is involved the Simpson women’s soccer team, the triathlon  club, the academic fraternity Alpha Lambda Delta, and the biology honorary society Beta Beta Beta. After graduation she plans to attend graduate school in the biomedical sciences.


Laken Baird '18Laken Baird ’18

Laken is a freshman majoring in Neuroscience with minors in English and Psychology. She is currently involved in the women’s soccer team, women’s rugby team, Storm Overnight Squad, Supper Club, and Art Showcases. Upon graduation Laken plans to attend graduate school to pursue her interests in biomedical research that she developed before she entered college.


 

Mental Imagery and Language

Sarah Beadle '16Sarah Beadle ’16

Over the summer, I conducted a study on campus using our new eye tracking equipment for the first time.  My study explored the connection between mental imagery and language.  Past work has identified an interference effect when visual stimuli are presented in a location that has been primed by a verbal cue that elicits a location-specific image.  For example, “The Glass Fell” would interfere with stimulus recognition for items presented in the lower part of the screen.  I am currently analyzing my data and hope to have some results to report soon.

A unique aspect of this study was that my participants were part of the Upward Bound summer program here at Simpson.  Dr. Evans and I presented to high school students on the fields of Neuroscience and Psychology- discussing career options and some of the technology available- in exchange for their participation in the study.  It was a good experience to get to work on an independent study and break in the new eye tracking goggles!  Using Upward Bound benefited both parties and we hope that these high school students now see the potential with a degree in social science and exploring this field at the college level.

 


Internship Opportunities

The Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience maintains a list of Neuroscience
Internship Opportunities for Undergraduates on its website.  You can see
the list at the FUN website: go to www.funfaculty.org and on the left side
panel click on “For Students”, then “Internship Opportunities”.