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Louise S

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of California San Diego (UCSD)

Expertise

Neuroscience, neuropsychopharmacology, mental health disorders

Bio

Hi, I'm Louise! I am a PhD student in the neurosciences program at UCSD. I graduated from Brown University in 2018 where I studied cognitive deficits of Parkinson's Disease and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a research assistant at the National Institutes of Health researching neuroinflammation related to depression and neurodegenerative diseases using PET imaging. My current PhD project involves improving TMS as a treatment for depression and creating a predictive pipeline of treatment response for future clinical trials. Outside of the lab, I love to play soccer, hike, and surf. I always enjoy helping students develop their passion for science and I look forward to providing guidance in any way I can!

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.

Does cannabis have therapeutic effects for bipolar disorder?

In this project, you will learn about the underlying molecular deficits in bipolar disorder and how their symptoms manifest. You will then combine your knowledge of current treatments for bipolar disorder patients as well as the pharmacological mechanisms of cannabis to see whether it could either alleviate or worsen some of these patients' symptoms.

Developing more personalized treatments for depression

Using a range of neuroscience methodologies, you will learn why some patients respond better to certain medications/treatments than others and how we can predict that in advance

Languages I know

French

Teaching experience

I was a teaching assistant for an advanced neuroscience class in neuropharmacology at Brown University. I have also tutored high school students in biology, chemistry, and math. I am a teaching assistant for the core behavioral neuroscience course for first-year PhD students.

Credentials

Work experience

University of California San Diego (2020 - Current)
Graduate student in Neuroscience
National Institutes of Health (2018 - 2020)
Postbaccalaureate Research Trainee

Education

Brown University
BS Bachelor of Science (2018)
Neuroscience
University of California San Diego (UCSD)
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Neurosciences

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