Clara L
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Yale University
Expertise
neuroscience, molecular biology, psychiatry, essay writing
Bio
Hi there! I am a fourth-year Neuroscience Ph.D. student at Yale University. I graduated from Cornell University in 2017, having studied Biological Sciences and English. Afterward, I worked as a postgraduate researcher in Yale’s Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Now, as a Ph.D. student in Dr. Alex Kwan’s lab, my research interests encompass neuropsychiatric disorders and molecular psychiatry. I am fascinated by how drugs -- especially psychedelic drugs --act on the brain to influence behavior. For my thesis project, I am researching the mechanisms underpinning the therapeutic and neuroplasticity-promoting actions of the psychedelic drug psilocybin found in "shrooms". Overall, I strive to be a strong advocate for science communication and accessibility. I believe that conveying science effectively and persuasively to the general public is just as important, if not more important, as the research itself. A quarantine project I undertook instead of bread baking (I have no talents in the kitchen, unfortunately) was creating animated, easy-to-understand COVID-19 explainer videos which became popular educational tools for the general public. Some fun random facts about me: - I love to be active! I'm a retired competitive figure skater. These days, running, yoga, pilates, weight lifting, and spinning are my favorite stress-relievers! - I grew up in Los Angeles so Mexican food is my weakness! - I have a cat who acts like a dogProject ideas
Writing a Literature Review
Writing a review paper is a great way to not only become familiar with a subject but to add your own perspective and insight through having systematically combed through the published literature on a specific research topic. Through this, you will learn how to perform a literature search, learn how to effectively and efficiently read peer-review papers (a non-trivial skill that is often practiced at the graduate school level!), compare/contrast findings across different studies, and distill relevant ideas into a finalized piece that we can be submitted to a student journal.
Writing a Research Project Grant Proposal
If you want to go into research, writing an NIH-format research grant proposal is a paramount skill that takes lots of practice to perfect. Writing a grant will involve describing the comprehensive aims of a research project and convincing the reader that the project is worth funding
Science Communication Podcast
Podcasts have become an increasingly popular avenue of science communication. They can teach people about interesting topics anywhere from the history of disease treatments to fun facts about dreaming. The challenge is staying true to the accuracy of the science while engaging the audience. This project would result in a podcast episode describing and analyzing a peer-reviewed publication or a topic based on multiple publications.