了解劳拉·贝克尔博士, professor of psychology and director of the neuroscience program through these series of short videos.

Can magnesium boost brain function and learning ability? 特定药物是如何影响大脑的? Do we respond differently when asked to do something for a friend, versus being asked by a stranger? 这些都是Dr. Lora 贝克尔’s students are working to answer through abundant research opportunities within the 神经科学系 在英国威廉希尔中文网站.

贝克尔 has been influential in developing the 神经科学系 here at UE. She has had strong involvement in developing a curriculum that will give students an edge upon graduation.

“他们是否决定进入工业领域, 到药, or on to pursue graduate work in psychology, our students will need proven experience in the field.”

这, 她说, is why the program was specifically designed around a heavy focus on experiential opportunities. “By having a research and internship class as a required part of the major, students in our program are assured to get the hands-on experiences to give them an advantage.”

In addition to the research and internship classes, 贝克尔 helped to expand the neuroscience curriculum to include a special topics class. 这 course provides individualized learning opportunities for students with varied interests.

“Special topics courses allow us to give students access to subjects not currently in the course catalog. We can provide individual or group studies focused on areas of interest to our students. Those taking a special topics course have chosen to learn about a wide variety of things including drugs and behavior or the effects of traumatic brain injury.”

贝克尔 说 the caliber of student 在英国威廉希尔中文网站 really enhances the learning environment for the student body as a whole.

She points to one stand-out student in particular who has excelled both in and outside of the classroom. “Evan Meiman is a great example of a well-rounded UE student,” 她说. “He was the president of his fraternity as a sophomore, he’s involved with College Mentors for Kids, 他是同龄人中的佼佼者, 在课堂上是个好学生. He’s also strongly involved with the Nu Rho Psi, the national honors society for neuroscience and even presented data along with another of our students at the national conference in Washington DC which had over 31,000人参加.”

The honors society is another asset unique to the program at UE. The chapter at UE is the first and only chapter in Indiana and Kentucky, and there are only 40 chapters across the US. 贝克尔, who is the vice president for the Nu Rho Psi honors society national council, 说, “这是一个非常有声望的社会, and the entire program had to be reviewed and accepted to house the honors society on our campus.”

Benefits of the society include travel grants to conferences, networking with professionals in the field, 获得研究生院的指导, and even grants to hold special chapter activities. “Our chapter received a teaching grant to introduce elementary kids to neuroscience,” 贝克尔 说. “We went to Signature School and Hebron Elementary here in Evansville, and our students had the opportunity to take on a teaching role. They talked about how adaptable the brain is and put kids in vision distortion goggles to illustrate the point.”

整体, the education and abundant hands-on experiences gained at UE have taken neuroscience graduates down a variety of professional paths. “We’ve had students go on to become academic professors, 医生, 药品研究人员, 验光师, 以及动物实验室技术人员. Some have gone on for their master’s in sports performance and physiology. Really, a base in neuroscience can fit in anywhere in the medical profession.”

贝克尔 encourages the exploration of a degree in the field. “神经科学 sounds so daunting, but it’s really approachable. 最终, 这都是关于人体的, so each and every one of us can personally appreciate what we’re studying.”