Mohamad Moughnyeh, a senior majoring in the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program, writes about his experiences in the program and at UAB.

I never imagined that I would end up in Alabama having grown up in Canada. However, having lived here for about 6 years now and after spending so much time on campus and in Birmingham as a whole, I have really grown to love and enjoy this city and I can say without a doubt that my experience in Neuroscience and at UAB has led to my phenomenal experience in Birmingham.

Neuroscience has always been an interest of mine and when I was making decisions as to which university I would attend, it was of the greatest importance that there was a neuroscience program established at the school. What really sealed the deal for me to attend UAB was my meeting with Dr. McFarland and I can say the program has not disappointed in the slightest.  Through the neuroscience program, I’ve been able to join a lab and become more active on campus than I ever would have been otherwise.

My lab work began in my sophomore year in Dr. Clinton’s research lab and continues until this day. Throughout my time in this lab, I’ve gone from doing various tasks that helped the graduate students with their projects to my own project that is the basis of my senior thesis and is focused on understanding the biological aspects of certain individuals’ susceptibility to depression. Although the research is heavily based on rodent models, our hope is to translate this into human applications in order to better intervene in depression in individuals and better understand the biological underpinnings of the disease.

I have since gotten involved in many different organizations on campus and had countless enjoyable experiences at UAB with International Mentors being one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had. Being an international mentor allowed me to connect with international students from many different nations as well as broadening the way in which I viewed the world.

There have been many experiences and many individuals that I have been exposed to since arriving at UAB and they have all made me a better person for it. Furthermore, the neuroscience program is made up of some of the brightest, most intelligent and friendly people at UAB and I am proud and honored to be able to call myself a neuroscience major and I greatly appreciate the experience that came with getting to know all these people in my program.

After graduation, I plan on pursuing a career in medicine and hope that all the experiences that have brought me to where I am today help me to be the best doctor I can be tomorrow.