I joined the Tetel lab during the fall semester of my sophomore year and worked with Liz Bless on the role of hormones in energy homeostasis in female mice. Using immunohistochemistry and fluorescence microscopy, we examined the potential interaction between leptin and estrogen systems in the hypothalamus. Check out the following link for the published paper: http://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0027-16.2016

After graduation in spring 2017, I spent about 6 months working as the Student Coordinator for the Wellesley-Mayo Vaginal Microbiome project. The experience was valuable for me as I was able to learn interpersonal and management skills essential for collaborative efforts. It is an on-going project, and I am looking forward to hearing back about the results in the near future!

I started my graduate program at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto in fall 2017. My research project utilizes electrophysiology, optogenetics, and computational modelling to investigate homeostatic changes in neuronal excitability. The ultimate goal is to understand why ion channel blockers are often ineffective as treatments for neuropathic pain. I hypothesize that targeting a specific ion channel often has no lasting effect because there are multiple unique solutions for a given excitability sufficient for reversing therapeutic effects. To measure changes in excitability, I spent the first few weeks after joining the Prescott lab just learning how to (whole-cell) patch on cultured neurons. Electrophysiology experiments are unique in the sense that patching is like riding a bicycle- an acquired skill perfected through learning and practice. I am now past the learning curve and am thrilled to be collecting some actual data!