Elyse Johnson ’12

"Throughout my time in high school, I was always deeply interested in the field of women’s health. After deciding that UNE was the right place for me, I began my college career as a Medical Biology major and immediately declared a minor in Women’s and Gender studies. This combination was because I wanted to continue my science core with a supplement of focused humanities studies. At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to change my major to Neuroscience because I wanted to integrate my interests in psychology and physiology and continue looking at those from a gender perspective in order to better serve my future patients.

"Finding a school that was on the smaller side and that made a point of focusing on its students was essential to me. The small class sizes and direct attention that UNE’s students receive from professors and staff alike helped me in my studies as well as my personal growth as a resident. Neuroscience is a rapidly growing major. Being part of the program while it was small was a great experience, but seeing such a burgeoning interest is exciting.

"During my junior and senior years, as well as the summer between them, I worked with Professor David Mokler in his neuropharmacology laboratory. Working as a lab assistant was a supplement to my classes as I learned categorizations, organizational skills, surgical techniques and animal care skills... That experience allowed me to combine all of my lab research, work semi-independently within a laboratory setting, and explore one of my own interests while still furthering the research of the lab. My research experience at UNE was an in-depth exploration of how research works and the types of methods available today."