profile pic

Leah F

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at Yale University

Expertise

Behavioral neuroscience and neurobiology of psychiatric illnesses

Bio

As an undergraduate I worked with an amazing mentor who taught me what it meant to do scientific research and guided me through my first independent research project studying how drugs can affect different forms of memory. I was particularly interested in types of memory relevant to schizophrenia and how we could study this in animals. I am now finishing up my PhD in neuroscience studying hallucinations (e.g. hearing things which aren't there) and delusions (e.g. believing someone is controlling your arms), a common experience in patients with schizophrenia. When I am not in the lab, I love playing tennis, working in my garden and cuddling with my two cats Ruby and Priya. I am also passionate about outreach, and in particular education and hope to someday shape how science is taught!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

What causes someone to hallucinate?

Schizophrenia is an illness marked by experiences which deviate from our accepted reality; this includes hearing or seeing things which are not actually there (a hallucination). In this project you will dive into scientific literature on the causes of hallucinations, reading studies about potential brain-related causes and changes in the way a person perceives and processes the world which could make them hallucinate. We will also explore how clinical hallucinations relate to experiences we all might have such as falling for an optical illusion or thinking we hear our phone when it didn’t buzz. This will culminate in a literature review paper about what causes hallucinations.

Stigma and mental illness

It is estimated that 1 in 5 adults live with a mental illness in the US, and yet mental illnesses are poorly understood. There are high rates of stigma towards people with mental illnesses and misconceptions about these illnesses. This stigma is known to have negative impacts on outcomes for patients. In this project, you can conduct surveys in your local community to learn more about what the most common misconceptions about mental health are. We can then work together to think of ways to improve education about these common misconceptions- maybe a short educational video or flyer.

Why do people believe conspiracy theories?

Why do people endorse conspiracy theories like the belief that humans have never been to the moon? First we can dive into scientific papers that have studied why conspiracy theories and other extreme beliefs emerge and what environmental conditions might increase them. We can even think about how the covid-19 pandemic has affected people’s conspiracy-related beliefs. You can then use surveys to study whether different forms of stress or emotional states lead to higher endorsement of conspiracy theories. For instance, do people who experience more uncertainty or anger in their lives also believe more conspiracy theories? Have another idea for studying conspiracy theories, let’s try it!

Coding skills

R

Teaching experience

I have taught summer courses, workshops and led events with high school and middle school students through Yale's Pathways to Science Programs. I have also served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses and mentored many undergraduate students working on research projects in my lab. I have worked with students with a range of experience including those conducting scientific research for the first time and learning how to ask scientific questions and read scientific papers.

Credentials

Work experience

Yale Pathways to Science (2020 - 2021)
Instructor
Connecticut College Academic Resource Center (2013 - 2016)
Peer tutor

Education

Connecticut College
BA Bachelor of Arts (2016)
Behavioral Neuroscience
Yale University
MS Master of Science (2018)
Neuroscience
Yale University
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Neuroscience

Interested in working with expert mentors like Leah?

Apply now