I am currently a sophomore here at Lycoming College majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Computational Science. After I complete my undergraduate education, I plan to attend graduate school and eventually pursue a career performing research in computational biology or a related field. Studying at Lycoming College has given me many opportunities, such as the ability to perform research as an undergraduate. I am currently involved in two different research projects in both the Math Department and the Biology Department. I assist Dr. Brandon and two other student researchers in performing partial differential equations research. I am also a part of Dr. Morrison’s lab, which researches how Purkinje cells interact with granule neurons in the brain and how treatments could possibly be developed for cerebellar injuries or ataxias. This research is important because it enables a better understanding of how the brain is affected by things like severe alcoholism and traumatic injuries. This understanding could be used to help develop a drug that could potentially reverse the damage done to the neurons in these cases. Assisting in this research as an undergraduate will give me the lab skills necessary to do well in graduate school. Being able to assist in math research will help me reach my goal of performing research in computational biology. Having done unrelated research in both of these departments as an …show more content…
It is for this reason that I enjoy giving back to Lycoming whenever I can. In addition to the activities listed above, I am a biology tutor for the Academic Resource Center, a grader for the Math Department, a planetarium show assistant for the Department of Astronomy/Physics, and I just took over writing the faculty meeting report for the Lycourier. This may seem like a lot of activities, and it does lead to some busy days, but I enjoy every minute of