Emily Jennings, a senior majoring in the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program, writes about her experiences in the program and at UAB.
Until I was about sixteen years old, I had always thought I would become a historian. History was my favorite and best subject. That all changed after taking my first biology course. Biology made science seem interesting and fun! I began to see science in its true form: a subject that is ever changing and takes critical thinking to a new level. I especially enjoyed the challenge presented by science because it was not easy for me. This newfound interest in science, augmented by the stories of my cousins with brain tumors and Landau-Kleffner syndrome, developed a curiosity to understand the details of how the nervous system functions; thus, by the end of high school, I was interested in a career in something related to neuroscience.
Selecting a university with strong science departments, an honors college, and undergraduate research opportunities seemed like the logical choice. I specifically selected the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program (UNP) at UAB because it provided the ideal environment to expand my very limited science knowledge. As an interdisciplinary program, the UAB UNP offers a curriculum that incorporates all disciplines of science, everything from physics to psychology. Such a structure allows students the opportunity to explore areas of interest and take courses taught by faculty of the research and medical centres of the university, ensuring that students are receiving their information from the most knowledgeable people in each topic.
The undergraduate research possibilities offered by the UNP were part of what made the program so attractive to me, and are also what have created my most memorable undergraduate experience: working in the laboratory of Drs. Thomas van Groen and Inga Kadish. As an undergraduate research assistant in the van Groen-Kadish lab, I have had the opportunity to study Alzheimer’s disease and aging, but most importantly, I have grown as a scientist. My thesis project was to check whether or not the ANK6 dipeptide improved cognition in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model, and it is through working on that project that I have experienced the thrills and disappointments that come when science does and does not work. I have learned to think and work like a scientist thanks to my wonderful mentors. In fact, my undergraduate research experience in the van Groen-Kadish lab has been so great that I have decided to make research part of my career and will be moving to either Scotland or the Netherlands in the Fall of 2017 to pursue a graduate degree. This is a change from my original plan of going straight to medical school from undergrad, but I am following my interests. As a graduating fourth year student, I think that is the best advice I can give to any student starting out at university: follow your interests and don’t feel like you have to stick to one decision forever, at least not right now. Life happens and plans change as interests develop.
Outside of the research lab and classes, I have grown as a leader through the UAB Ambassador Program, served the community by working as a volunteer at the VA Medical Centre, and learned about the science writing and publication process through serving on the Editorial Board for Inquiro, UAB’s undergraduate research journal. I have also found time to pursue interests outside of science. For instance, I spent the Fall 2016 semester studying abroad at the University of Stirling in Scotland in order to pursue my favorite hobby, history.
As my undergraduate career draws to a close, I am proud to say I will soon be an alumna of UAB and the UNP. It is the incredibly supportive network of friends, colleagues, professors, and mentors I have met over the past four years that have made my university experience so rewarding. Thanks to their support, my aspirations have become reality, and I am looking forward to a career as a physician-scientist.
