Elena Greenall is a current fourth-year Neuroscience student who was working with Dr. Catharine Winstanley as a part of the SBME Synergy Undergraduate Summer Research Program. We caught up with Elena to learn more about her experience in the program.
Why did you apply to the Synergy program?
Throughout my time at UBC, I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in research both as a volunteer and through directed research courses. These experiences have shown me how much I enjoy being in the lab environment where I can problem-solve, expand my neuroscientific knowledge and learn from amazing mentors. I applied to the Synergy program to immerse myself in the research environment full-time and continue developing my research skills.
The Synergy program stood out to me not only because of the opportunity to grow my research skills but also because of the planned events throughout the summer, such as networking with other Synergy students, the presentation skills workshop and the career panel. I was excited to expand my network and learn about other fields of research at UBC.
What is your research project?
My research project looked at the effects of macrodoses of psilocybin on decision-making and impulsivity in a rat model of gambling. In the gambling task, rats make decisions to win sugar pellets while lights and sounds play just like a casino. I explored whether the administration of psilocybin prior to the gambling task would improve decision-making and impulsivity in the rats. I looked at variables such as the dosage of psilocybin, sex-specific effects and validated psilocybin’s mechanism of action in the brain. This project lays the foundations to determine whether psilocybin has the potential to be used in a human study for individuals with a gambling addiction.
What are some of the skills that you are learning in the lab?
My main responsibility is conducting behavioural work, so I set up and run the gambling task to collect data. I have been learning to perform data analysis, by cleaning data and generating graphs using programs like SPSS and R. I have also gained experience with how to use a cryostat, sectioning brain slices for immunohistochemistry and mounting them on microscope slides for further analysis. Finally, I have been able to improve my science communication skills by designing a research poster for Synergy Research Day.
What are some accomplishments during your time in the program?
During Synergy Research Day, I had the opportunity to give an oral talk. As I had never done this before, learning how to present my research in a new form and speaking in front of many people was a significant accomplishment for me. I was also very excited to learn that I was awarded Runner Up for my oral talk.
What was a memorable moment for you in this program?
One of my most memorable moments was touring the labs of other Synergy students. It was fascinating to learn about how other labs operate, what they look like, and the equipment they use. I am glad the program was so interdisciplinary because I was able to learn more about the diverse research happening at UBC.
