My grandmother was my best friend. She laughed when I laughed; she cried when I cried. I wondered why she was suddenly forgetting things she had no problem remembering before. How could my grandma suddenly forget what country she was in? How could my grandma not even remember my name? … Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases. An emerging field of science is genomic neurology, which explores the genetic basis for neurodegenerative diseases.

My research journey started from when I was a volunteer at a memory and rehabilitation center at my local city. There, I saw the drastic effects of neurodegenerative diseases on individuals making it incredibly hard to continue daily life. Motivated by my interest in neuroscience, I decided to start a research project in computational neuroscience … Neurological disorders continue to affect millions of people worldwide, with diseases leading to loss of cognitive function, a decline in memory, and even death.

Researching is worlds apart from any other kind of learning. It is a process of self-discovery and trial and error . . . I learned very quickly that everything is not black in white. There is too much grey in the entirety of it. You may not always know if you are going in the right direction. Therefore, the best thing to do is embrace the grey, think out of the box, and take a chance.

My research began with a news article about PCB pollution in the Hudson River and its effects on a small bottom feeding fish called the Atlantic tomcod. Although this article was geared more toward evolutionary adaptations as a result of environmental pollution, I was drawn to its subtle elements of studying chemical exposure at the molecular level, and I continued to read additional articles and papers concerning toxicology and genetics … My research utilizes Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as yeast, to visualize differences in gene expression following exposure to various concentrations of lead.

My interest in cardiovascular health stems from a range of factors. There is currently a health epidemic in the United States: our largely unhealthy lifestyles, fatty and high-cholesterol diet, and lacking exercise, combine with genetic factors, contribute to some of the highest levels of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact heart disease is prevalent in most developed and some developing countries, contributing to more deaths then cancer and HIV combined, worldwide.