Published May 9, 2023 All Meta Credits
Dan Vahaba Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
When first-year student Alyssa Guthrie landed in Durham in the Fall of 2019, she knew she wanted to do research at Duke. Unfortunately, she hit a roadblock right away.
I was having trouble finding a research opportunity my freshman year because a lot of them require that you have lab experience, said Guthrie, who came from Petersburg, Alaska, a town of 3,043 on the panhandle of the state, where most folks work in tourism or commercial fishing. One of my best friends here had research experience starting her sophomore year of high school, and specialized coding classes. I don't know how I could have gotten that in high school.
To help remove barriers that many students like Guthrie face, a team of graduate students affiliated with the Duke Center for Cognitive Neuroscience created a program in the Fall of 2020 called the Cognitive Neuroscience Research Internship (CNRI).
When I learned about the CNRI program, I was like, This is literally so perfect! Guthrie said.
Now in its third year and sixth cohort, the semester-long CNRI program aims to make research experience more accessible by paying participants about $1,200 per semester for their time (most undergraduate lab positions are on a volunteer basis), and explicitly recruiting students who have little or no prior research experience.
The CNRI program aims to promote equitable access to undergraduate research opportunities in psychology and neuroscience, said Jenna Merenstein, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at Duke and the CNRI visibility & recruitment co-leader. As a first-generation college graduate, I know first-hand how important these kinds of programs are. I love being able to help students become a part of the next generation of scientists.
Combined, those elements create a much-needed entry point for students who would otherwise need to take on a non-academic job during the semester, as well as those without previous research opportunities, such as current first-year Tatiana Taylor.
Taylor spent the spring 2023 semester in the lab of neurobiology professor Richard Mooney, Ph.D. studying how a set of specialized brain regions help songbirds learn how to communicate. Like the zebra finches she studied, Taylor also learned a new language in a supportive environment during her time as a CNRI scholar: the programming language Python.
I thought I was going to struggle with it, Taylor said. But the mentors and support system are really great. You feel a lot of pressure on you as a student being at a top university, but when I'm in my coding group, I just like the atmosphere of learning and I don't feel judged when I don't know something.
In addition to lab experience and a Python coding course, CNRI scholars are treated to a series of professional development workshops across the semester and partake in a weekly journal club to help them gain confidence in understanding and evaluating technical scientific research papers.
Funding for the CNRI program was initially provided by the Charles Lafitte Foundation, which covered the programs main expense of paying the student participants. A generous recent gift from Beth and Ron Ostrow will help sustain the program for future students and their mentors, as has a co-sponsorship with Dukes Center for Computational Thinking.
CNRI organizers hope to continue to improve and grow the program by increasing the diversity of neuroscience labs and research that students can take part in, as well as compensating graduate students and postdoctoral mentors for their time and effort with the interns.
While the program is still young, many of the CNRI alumni have gone on to do things they didnt think were possible before their research experience. One former CNRI scholar accepted a data science internship at the streaming music service Spotify, and another went on to contribute what they learned to a Bass Connections team on language, music, and dementia.
Guthrie followed an impressive and productive path as a CNRI research assistant in the lab of psychiatry professor Alison Adcock, M.D., Ph.D., where she recently completed her honors thesis work. Now shes looking at graduate programs in clinical psychology, in large part due to her time early on as a CNRI scholar.
When I first came to Duke, I thought I was pre-med all the way, Guthrie said. But after going through CNRI, I was told to keep an open mind, and learned how med school wasnt the only future for a science degree after undergrad.
Guthrie hopes to draw and build on what shes learned about neuroscience during her time at Duke to inform her future work as a clinician and researcher.
Theres a lot of work on how trauma can affect the growing brain, Guthrie said. As an Alaska Native, I also think there are a lot of traumas unique to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and other Indigenous peoples. So I really want to work with Indigenous populations in Alaska, both with research and as a psychologist.
View post:
Class of 2023: Alyssa Guthrie, a 'Literally So Perfect' Neuroscience ... - Duke Today
- Neuroscience helps explain the teenage brain and mental health - ABC News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- XX Marks the Spot: Addressing Sex Bias in Neuroscience - The Scientist - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Neuroscience-based tools for transformative leadership - Fast Company - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- How 100 Years of EEG Have Transformed Neuroscience - Being Patient - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Reconstructing dopamines link to reward - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- The neuroscience of itch in relation to transdiagnostic psychological approaches - Nature.com - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- A README for open neuroscience - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Dopamine and the need for alternative theories - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Kim Stachenfeld on the dance between neuroscience and artificial intelligence - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Vijay Mohan K. Namboodiri - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Varied Cognitive Training Boosts Learning and Memory - Neuroscience News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Issue | September 2024 | XX Marks the Spot: Addressing Sex Bias in Neuroscience - The Scientist - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- The Transmitter Partners With World Wide Neuro and Brain Inspired, Building on Mission to Inform, Connect Neuroscience Community - StreetInsider.com - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Gene Therapy Offers Hope for Glaucoma and AMD - Neuroscience News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- The Neuroscience of Phantom Sensations: Can We Feel Whats Not Really There? - SciTechDaily - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Tau May Protect Brain Cells from Oxidative Damage - Neuroscience News - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Scientists use fainting to uncover new insights into the neuroscience of consciousness - PsyPost - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Biosensors and being fearless with Lin Tian - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Can Neuroscience Train Your Brain to Be Happier? This Startup Has an App for That - Inc. - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Neuroscience Surprise: Different Types of Love Light Up Different Parts of the Brain - SciTechDaily - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Second paper from lab of Nobel Prize winner to be retracted - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- How cognitive bias affects your draft strategy with neuroscience professor Dr. Renee Miller - Yahoo Sports - August 5th, 2024 [August 5th, 2024]
- This 3-step approach to performance reviews uses neuroscience to make them less awful - Fast Company - August 5th, 2024 [August 5th, 2024]
- Is it time to worry about brain chimeras? - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - August 5th, 2024 [August 5th, 2024]
- Sharing brain images can foster new neuroscience discoveries - American Heart Association - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Latest News: Neuroscience Major Applies What Shes Learned in the Classroom and in the Lab - Muhlenberg College - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- BioIVT to Highlight its Integral Role in Drug and Diagnostic Discovery and Development in addition to Neuroscience Research at Premier Life Science... - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Alto Neuroscience Receives Funding Award from Wellcome Trust to Accelerate Development of ALTO-100 in Bipolar Depression Leveraging Precision... - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Neuroscience Says 3 Simple Steps Can Turn Disappointment and Stress Into Success and Fulfillment (and Boost Your Emotional Intelligence) - Inc. - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Golf: neuroscience reveals the secrets of better putting new study - The Conversation - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- The Neuroscience Behind Video: Why Video is the Most Effective Marketing Channel - StreamTV Insider - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Adjusting Proteins Increases Ozempics Effectiveness - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Low-Calorie Diets Harm Athletes Performance and Health - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Reflective Thinking Boosts Teen Brain Resilience to Violence - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Neuroscience Says Olympians Like Simone Biles Use the Autopilot Trick to Achieve Peak Performance. So Can You - Inc. - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- What well-being is (and isnt), according to neuroscience - Big Think - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Brain Areas Take Micro-Naps While the Rest Stays Awake - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Persistent protein pairing enables memories to last - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- AI Enhances Story Creativity but Risks Reducing Novelty - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Infection Brain Inflammation Triggers Muscle Weakness - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Alto Neuroscience, Inc. (NYSE:ANRO) Receives Average Rating of Buy from Analysts - Defense World - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- 2024 Kavli Prize awarded for research on face-selective brain areas - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking Flow: The Neuroscience of Creative Bliss - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Revolutionizing Glioblastoma Treatment - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Decoding spontaneous thoughts from the brain via machine learning - EurekAlert - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Reducing Toxic AI Responses - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Advancing the neuroscience of human pregnancy - Nature.com - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Angela Bryan Awarded Hazel Barnes Prize | Psychology and Neuroscience - University of Colorado Boulder - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- How Old Are You in Your Head? The Neuroscience of Subjective Age Reveals How to Stay Mentally Young - Inc. - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Biohaven Showcases Innovative Neuroscience Portfolio with 20 Presentations at the 2024 American Academy of ... - PR Newswire - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Those Who Use Willpower Deemed More Trustworthy - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- How Sex and Gender Shape Our Cognition - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- War's Toll on the Brain: Widespread PTSD and Anxiety Among Ukrainians - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Paints and Pesticides Linked to ALS Risk - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- AI STORIES: A New Vision for AI and Narratives - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Neuroscience Breakthrough Unveils How We Learn and Remember - SciTechDaily - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Pregnancy's Toll: Accelerated Aging in Young Mothers - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Learning and Memory Formation's Molecular Basis - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Acetaminophen in Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism, ADHD Risk - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Childhood Loneliness Linked to Later Psychosis - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIGL) Expected to Post Q1 2024 Earnings of ($0.58) Per Share - Defense World - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) Diversity Grants 2024 Opportunity Desk - Opportunity Desk - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Hereditary Alzheimer's Transmitted Via Bone Marrow Transplants - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Household Chemicals Linked to Brain Health Risks - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Cheers to Longevity: Couples Who Drink Together, Live Longer - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Sleeplessness Makes You Feel Up To Ten Years Older - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Aging Brain Cells Have Prolonged Death Process - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Anxiety Drives Wishful Thinking to Risky Levels - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Prolonged Progestogen Use Linked to Brain Tumor Risk - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- The Genetic Secrets of Neuron Formation - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Vigil Neuroscience Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results and Provides Business Update - Yahoo Finance - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Big research, little time: Medical neuroscience student wins 3 Minute Thesis finals - Dal News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- The new NeuroAI - Nature.com - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Exploring Aphantasia: The Mind Without a Mental Picture - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Altered Brain pH Linked to Cognitive Disorders - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Emotion vs. Reason: Rethinking Decision-Making - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- DNA Damage and Inflammation Key to Memory Formation - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Embracing Neurodiversity: Beyond Stigma to Strength - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Devil in the Details: The Visual World of Prosopometamorphopsia - Neuroscience News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]