Year you started the Neuroscience Program: 2005

Why you chose the UC Denver Neuroscience Program: Primarily our faculty kept me here. I had worked as a technician for a little more than a year, was impressed and excited about the science here and felt there was still plenty for me to learn.

What labs you rotated in: Manisha Patel, Tom Finger, Sukumar Vijayaraghavan

What lab you joined and why: Tom Finger. This lab offers the best of both worlds for me; first, the science interesting and second Tom is a great advisor in addition to being well established and regarded in the field. We work well together and that was one of the most important factors for my graduate training—an advisor that knows a lot, can teach it well, and encourages one to go somewhere else to learn more.

Short description of your project: Early cellular changes, particularly glial, in the brainstem after peripheral injury to taste nerves.

Where you attended undergrad and what your major/minor(s) were: Studied at the University of Montana and finished a BS in biology at University Colorado, Major: Biology

What you did (if anything) between undergrad and grad school: Teaching (private elementary inner city Denver schools and English as a second language for adults), worked in a nursery (plants not kids), and returned to science refreshed and worked for about a year and a half as a technician at this Health Sciences Center.

Other school affiliated activities/clubs you are involved in: Varying neuroscience committees

What you like to do outside of school: I made my way through undergrad working in the kitchen of a European bistro and still enjoy cooking and baking.