Student: Megan Wang
Concentration: Neuroscience and Early Modern World
Lab: Kaun lab
Faculty mentor: Karla Kaun
Thesis: One of the most intriguing questions to me is why some individuals are more predisposed to abusing drugs than others. My honors thesis investigates the morphology of a simple circuit in the fruit fly brain that is responsible for ethanol preference. We conducted behavior experiments where fruit flies self-administer alcohol, and then I used a screening method called immunohistochemistry to observe how the flies’ neurons increase or decrease in size. This project showed me how alcohol experience and preference in certain subjects leads to the physical restructuring of neurons, which can accelerate the transition from alcohol use to abuse. I’ve presented this project at conferences like Society for Neuroscience and the Boston Area Drosophila Meeting, as well as the Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Why I ❤️ the Open Curriculum: I first attended college at the University of California, Los Angeles, and transferred to Brown specifically to work with Dr. Kaun and to use the Open Curriculum to explore humanities disciplines like art history and literature. I double-concentrated in Neuroscience and Early Modern World, the latter of which involves exploring the 15th to 18th centuries through literature, history and other humanities disciplines. My Early Modern World capstone project involved reconstructing recipes from a 17th century medicinal text to explore how scientific practice and craftsmanship converged at this time. Having the opportunity to take so many humanities courses has taught me how to convey complex topics to a wide variety of audiences, which is crucial in this present moment, where there is a huge need for researchers to be able to describe the purpose and impact of their work to the general public.
What’s next? After graduation, I’m planning to work in the Kaun lab as a research technician before applying to medical school. Being able to conduct cutting-edge research at Brown has motivated me to take risks with my ideas, which I hope to continue pursuing in my future career in medicine and research.