HARD SCIENCE –
April 5, 2022 – I studied at the University of Pennsylvania for undergrad in the early 2000s before going to Rockefeller University for a PhD in Molecular Biology. I was drawn back to Penn because, not only was it my alma mater, but it was the home of innovative and thought-provoking neuroscience and epigenetics research and the principal scientists leading discovery in the field. It was a place that fostered my love of investigation.
There were people on faculty like one of my mentors, Ted Abel, PhD, a former professor of Biology at Penn and now chair of Neuroscience at the University of Iowa, with whom I was lucky enough to work during my undergraduate studies (we looked at sleep deprivation and memory in mice.) Having experience doing research and being part of a lab as an undergraduate was foundational for me, and kudos are due to Penn and my mentors for offering that experience. I was confident that Penn would allow me to pursue breakthroughs with some of the brightest experts. I returned here in 2009 and have continued my professional journey here ever since.
