{"686268":{"#nid":"686268","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Undergraduate Neuroscience Research Program Gives Georgia Tech Students an Advantage","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Maia Barrow was in sixth grade, a close relative was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). Seeing their cognitive decline sparked her interest in neuroscience. She chose to study at Georgia Tech so she could not only take classes in neuroscience but also do research in it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI realized from the International Baccalaureate program in high school that I really liked research and writing about my findings, so I wanted to hit the ground running,\u201d Barrow said. \u201cA couple of the other schools I considered didn\u2019t have as fully developed a program as Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince her first year at the Institute, Barrow has worked in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Psychology\u003C\/a\u003E Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/eric-schumacher\u0022\u003EEric Schumacher\u2019s\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/control.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ecognitive neuroscience lab\u003C\/a\u003E, where she is now the lab manager. Her experience enabled her to work in three other labs over three summers. These research opportunities prepared Barrow, now in her final semester, to apply for neuroscience Ph.D. programs. She hopes to study computational psychiatry, which applies basic neuroscience concepts to computational modeling, enabling better predictions and diagnoses of neurodegenerative disorders, like MS, and clinical disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBarrow is one of more than 100 Georgia Tech undergraduates who conduct neuroscience research every year. They lend their perspective to nearly 70 labs across campus, which are often led by faculty in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society\u003C\/a\u003E (INNS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EConnecting Across Campus\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents work in labs in almost all seven of the Institute\u2019s Colleges, but they can also conduct research at places like Emory University or the Shepherd Center.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHaving the chance to engage in hands-on scientific discovery in a research laboratory is often a richer, deeper experience than a classroom,\u201d said Schumacher, who also\u0026nbsp;directs the undergraduate neuroscience program. \u201cMaking those discoveries is why scientists are interested in science, so giving undergraduates an opportunity to do that is critical for a successful program.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinding the right lab is paramount in this process. As director of undergraduate research in neuroscience,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/katharine-mccann\u0022\u003EKatharine McCann\u003C\/a\u003E helps connect students to the right research opportunities, whether by emailing labs to see if there are openings or coordinating a networking night for students to meet researchers in labs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the reasons undergraduate neuroscience research is so robust at Georgia Tech is that there\u0027s neuroscience research happening in nearly every College on campus,\u201d said McCann. \u201cMost of our students are placed in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E or the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECollege of Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, but we have students who are in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECollege of Computing\u003C\/a\u003E and the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/a\u003E, too.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe undergraduate presence is just as much of a benefit to the lab, according to Schumacher. Often, these students bring a new outlook, as well as solid basic science skills that reinvigorate a lab\u2019s energy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmbedding Research in Everything\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENeuroscience is one of the most interdisciplinary majors on campus. Students take courses ranging from biology to computation, and because they gain both broad knowledge and deep research experience, neuroscience has become one of Georgia Tech\u2019s fastest-growing majors. This combination prepares them for careers in science, technology, and even fields such as medicine and dentistry.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor neuroscience, we require students to take chemistry, physics, math, and biology, so they\u2019re well-rounded critical thinkers,\u201d said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/timothy-cope\u0022\u003ETim Cope\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E andthe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E. Cope previously ran the neuroscience undergraduate program and now directs the neuroscience and neurotechnology Ph.D. program. \u201cNeuroscience is one of the most pressing societal topics right now. Not a day goes by in our lives that there\u0027s not something in the news about addiction, depression, or Parkinson\u2019s, and these neuroscience students could be at the forefront of improving people\u2019s lives.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding the Future of Neuroscience\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFourth-year neuroscience student Lynn Kim joined biological sciences Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/young-hui-chang\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/young-hui-chang\u0022\u003EYoung-Hui Chang\u2019s\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cnl.biosci.gatech.edu\/\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/www.cnl.biosci.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EComparative Neuromechanics Lab\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;in her first year. She studied how the nervous system adapts to a novel gravity environment through a reduced gravity simulator that mirrors the body weight support system. For her thesis, she explored the role of vision in coordinating sense and motor function, analyzing changes in movements, muscle activity, and cognitive perception of gravity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI believe my projects will provide valuable insights to both\u0026nbsp;neuroscience\u0026nbsp;research and applied rehabilitation science, while preparing me to pursue a career dedicated to improving patient outcomes through research,\u201d Kim said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech leads in neuroscience research at every level. From students who are performing their first experiments to interdisciplinary institutes like INNS, Georgia Tech is building a neuroscience pipeline that starts early and runs deep.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEach year, more than 100 undergraduates conduct neuroscience research in labs across campus.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Each year, more than 100 undergraduates conduct neuroscience research in labs across campus."}],"uid":"34541","created_gmt":"2025-11-06 19:11:48","changed_gmt":"2025-11-12 16:41:45","author":"Tess Malone","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-11-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-11-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678566":{"id":"678566","type":"image","title":"Maia-Barrow-003.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003EUndergraduate researcher Maia Barrow in the cognitive neuroscience lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E[Photo by Allison Carter]\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1762456349","gmt_created":"2025-11-06 19:12:29","changed":"1762456349","gmt_changed":"2025-11-06 19:12:29","alt":"Maia Barrow","file":{"fid":"262618","name":"Maia-Barrow-003.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/06\/Maia-Barrow-003.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/06\/Maia-Barrow-003.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1298419,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/11\/06\/Maia-Barrow-003.JPG?itok=8MRf1qyO"}},"678567":{"id":"678567","type":"image","title":"Maia-Barrow-008.JPG","body":"\u003Cp\u003E[Photo by Allison Carter]\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1762457431","gmt_created":"2025-11-06 19:30:31","changed":"1762457431","gmt_changed":"2025-11-06 19:30:31","alt":"Maia Barrow in lab","file":{"fid":"262619","name":"Maia-Barrow-008.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/06\/Maia-Barrow-008.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/06\/Maia-Barrow-008.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1317349,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/11\/06\/Maia-Barrow-008.JPG?itok=tmALLK34"}}},"media_ids":["678566","678567"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193656","name":"Neuro Next Initiative"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETess Malone, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Etess.malone@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}