Neuroscience Research Academy @ UPenn
In the summer of 2022, I was accepted into and attended the Neuroscience Research Academy program at UPenn. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for me, and I immensely enjoyed attending lectures by professors and researchers, discussing current neuroethics topics, studying prior FMRI research about brain patterns, and engaging in lab dissections.
While I greatly enjoyed learning about neural anatomy through a sheep's brain dissection, my favorite lab session was one in which we explored the visual system and its direct connection to the brain by dissecting a cow eyeball, which was attached to the optic nerve. The program exposed me to several neuroscience topics that I found fascinating, such as consciousness, cognitive development, executive functions, and mental disorders.
Neuroethics
One of the most captivating experiences while at the Neuroscience Academy was the Neuroethics club. As part of the club activities, we discussed everything from end-of-life care to free will and the ideas and questions raised there have stuck with me long after the program ended. The subject of philosophy fascinates me, and the manner in which it intersects with neuroscience, particularly in neuroethics, poses intriguing possibilities that I would love to explore further. For example, as someone who loves both animals and neuroscience, working on data that was collected from electrodes that were surgically implanted into a primate brain gave me a lot to think about.
