In November, I was one of five students who accompanied Prof. Elena Choleris, Psychology, to the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington, an international gathering that drew 31,000 people and featured a range of brain research and a lecture by the Dalai Lama. This experience was extremely memorable and included sharing a laugh with Nobel Prize Laureate Eric Kandel and seeing top neuroscientist Karyn Frick of Yale University set up her poster just four spots down from mine.
It's moments like these that have enriched and differentiated my undergraduate experience — and they're due, in large part, to the opportunities for research involvement and mentorship that Prof. Choleris has provided. What's most impressive, though, is that numerous other students have had great experiences in her lab. In 2005 alone, 14 undergraduates trained with her.
Cheryl Cragg has been with this lab the longest and is currently collaborating with Donald Pfaff of Rockefeller University on her first paper — certainly an exciting accomplishment for someone who's just started M.Sc. studies here at Guelph.
With Brain Awareness Week set to run March 13 to 17, it seems only fitting to highlight the fact that not only are professors conducting exciting neuroscience research on our campus, but their work is also inspiring undergraduates and allowing them to make huge strides in establishing their own research careers.
Megan Gray, Biological Sciences
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