Aine Scholand is a PhD student in the integrative neuroscience at Dartmouth (IND) program. Aine is one of the organizers behind this year’s Upper Valley Brain Bee.
What program are you part of at Dartmouth, and what sparked your interest in that field?
I am a first-year student in the integrative neuroscience at Dartmouth (IND) graduate program. I have always been fascinated by the human brain and curious as to what makes human beings what we are.
As much as we know about the brain, the fact that there is still so much left to learn about it was so incredible to me, I couldn’t stop myself. Especially when it pertains to human diseases and how researchers are able to develop therapeutics.
What do you consider your hometown, and how has it impacted who you are today?
I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I am so fortunate to have grown up in such a culturally rich environment. With influences from Native Americans, Mexicans, and Spanish histories, I was afforded different perspectives of how to view the world and exist within it at a young age. It is something that I always strive to take into consideration and has helped me on more than one occasion to think critically about problems I have faced in various aspects of my life.
Where did you earn your undergraduate degree, and how did your academic journey lead you to Dartmouth?
I earned my undergraduate degree at Simmons University. Simmons was an excellent place for me to learn more about neuroscience, as the faculty are so eager to teach students. I felt extremely supported by all of my professors there and highly encouraged to continue on this path with their support.
From there, I was able to work in a very translational gene therapy lab out in Worcester, which was the most meaningful work I have done to date. I wanted to combine these two elements for my graduate degree, and Dartmouth fit the bill perfectly.
Which professors or mentors are you working with right now, and how have they influenced your research?
I have rotated with three different faculty at Dartmouth: Dr. Francesca Gilli, Dr. Robert Hill, and Dr. Elijah Stommel. While these faculty have various different interests and focuses for their research, each have been incredible to learn more about the act of research from.
They each have given me strong lessons in how to ask meaningful scientific questions, where to look for the answers, how to design experiments to answer these questions, and how to present results in an informative way.
What motivated you to get involved in organizing the Upper Valley Brain Bee? What do you hope participants walk away with?
The mentor I had in my undergrad left a huge impact on my life and made it possible for me to pursue a career in STEM. I wanted to be that kind of mentor for others, with one of my main goals to make science more accessible.
When I was in high school, I wouldn’t have thought I was smart enough to study neuroscience, let alone try to make a career out of it. I wish I had something like the Brain Bee to help me realize STEM could have been a choice for me, and would have helped me immensely.
I sincerely hope the participants of the Bee will walk away with confidence and with the knowledge that they are capable of understanding and contributing to science no matter their background
Can you share a memorable moment from this year’s Brain Bee? How do you think events like this impact the broader community?
My favorite moment with the Brain Bee was seeing the Neuroscience Fair the morning of come together just before the exam. It had taken about a full year of planning and bootcamps to get to this point, and seeing it finally take place was such a point of pride for me.
We had so many of our volunteers arrive early to help us set up. It became such an incredible bonding experience seeing so many scientists sacrificing precious time out of their schedules to leave a positive impact on these young students.
It made me feel so grateful to see such a display of community come together to help make science more accessible and exciting.
Why did you choose Dartmouth to pursue your degree?
Dartmouth has incredible faculty conducting cutting edge research. The IND program itself is extremely multidisciplinary and collaborative in nature, which really affords the student to curate their experiences to whatever field or combination of fields they are most interested in. It affords an excellent opportunity to be creative and flexible, and for all of these reasons it was an easy choice for me.
Outside of your studies, what are some of your hobbies or interests?
I love to swim, paint and draw, read and recently I’ve been getting into pottery!
