Team

How I got into science

I grew up in a house deep in the woods and lived just a stone's throw from the beaches of the Long Island Sound. I remember assembling my own "museum" on a large stump in my back yard with cool things I found in the forest and collecting different sea creatures in tidal pools. I liked to discover, identify, and observe. My parents, both people of science, encouraged my curiosity and helped me do my research before I could even read.

In elementary school, most of my sentences began with the word "actually" and ended with a long-winded explanation for the natural phenomena of our world. I loved learning and was constantly searching for more information.

I always loved my science classes the best. Every month, my future changed: meteorologist, chemist, astronomer; whatever subject we were studying at the time.

In high school I took my first biology class. The wonder of living systems always had the greatest hold on me, and now I had the in-depth instruction to get me hooked. When we reached the neural systems unit I found myself left wanting more. So when I took Psychology the next year and loved that, I decided to pursue Neuroscience in college to get my fix.

I'm glad my teenage brain was able to make that connection between psych and bio. I’ve been at Northeastern University a few years now and I've worked in a few labs with some great people and I love neuroscience more than I could have imagined. In my search for a specific niche in my field, I’ve switched my focus from basic biological psychology to neurodegeneration to, finally, the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. I feel lucky to have always been encouraged in my passion for science and to have met and worked with so many great people who helped guide and develop my interests.