Support Alicia's Neuroscience Research Abroad

Hey! My name is Alicia. I am in my senior year of my undergrad in psychology with plans to go to grad school to receive my PhD specializing in treating addictions. For the past two years, I have worked at a non-profit residential treatment center for teens who struggle with behavior, substance use, and mental illnesses. I love helping people, learning about new cultures, and growing my education, which is why I have decided to go on a study abroad!

I need funding so I can further my education outside of the country in Scotland, England, and France. I am planning to go to Europe to study the brain and behavior of people. I will be there for five weeks with a group of students and two of our neuroscience professors. There, we will learn about perceptual organization, information processing, cognitive development, and relationships between sensory analysis, perception, memory, learning, language, and problem-solving. For research, we will be examining the organization of the brain and how neurological and psychiatric illnesses disrupt its organization. To answer these questions, we use a variety of analytical techniques to extract quantitative information from MRI scans. We currently have projects that investigate how the brain is affected in patients with autism, dementia, and mood and anxiety disorders. This is a huge opportunity that I would be devastated to miss because I would not have the chance to develop such an enriched educational experience otherwise.

This funding will go toward paying for flights, housing, meals, transportation within Europe, tuition for the classes, and extracurricular activities we will get to do outside of our preplanned schedule. This experience will help me gain knowledge pertaining to my field and increase my chances of getting into a better PhD program. It will help me learn about more cultures and, in turn, help me develop the skills and understanding necessary to become a better therapist. Any amount would help me accomplish a huge dream of mine!