LEARN Internships Provide Learning Experiences for Alumni as Well as Students

The Lafayette Alumni Research Network (LEARN) not only provides ideal research opportunities for neuroscience majors, it also allows alumni access to high caliber research assistants and provides them with a way to give back to their alma mater.

Jay Weiss ’62, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University; James Simmons ’65, professor of biology at Brown University; and Lisa Schrott ’87, assistant professor of pharmacology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, have been involved with LEARN for many years and believe the program has been vital to their various research projects.

This summer, Weiss is mentoring Danielle Sliva ’07 (Monroe, Conn.) in research on the neurochemical basis of mental illness. They are using animal models and examining the relationship between stress and immune responses.

“I have been associated with the [LEARN] program from its outset,” says Weiss. “It is very gratifying to see new students, particularly undergraduates, applying themselves to research problems, and really getting involved in the process. Students do differ in their level of involvement and interest, and those that truly apply themselves get the most out of the summer here. Danielle is very engaged in her work.”

Weiss previously conducted LEARN internships with Ashlee Snyder ’05, Evan Grolley ’05,Megan Coyer ’05, and Rachel Blackman ’04.

For Simmons, it is important for undergraduate researchers to enjoy their work, ensuring they follow careers in science and engineering.

He is working with Lori Cooper ’07 (Brackney, Pa.) this summer to discover why bats chase each other while flying at night and how they can manage in darkness with only their sonar for guidance. Simmons’ favorite aspect is taking students out at night to watch bats and witness how amazing the behavior actually is.

“[Lori] is a good intern who works hard to understand how to think independently about our problem,” he says. “[LEARN] is an interesting program because it takes advantage of a much wider range of resources that would not be available just at Lafayette. I like this approach and wish it had been available when I was at Lafayette.”

In the past, Simmons worked with John Hammond ’03 and Daniel Haddad ’06.

The LEARN program allows Schrottthe abilityto work with talented undergraduates and maintain contact with Lafayette.

“As an alumna, it is a wonderful experience to mentor students from Lafayette,” she says. “Not only are they bright and motivated, but they are very enthusiastic and willing to jump in and get their hands wet. In addition, living in northwest Louisiana, this program gives me the opportunity to stay in touch with Lafayette and learn about new programs and campus growth.”

Schrott is collaborating with Sylvina Mullins ’07 (Johnstown, Pa.) to investigate the extent to which prenatal exposure to the prescriptive opiate oxycodone, known as Oxycontin, impairs learning and memory later in life. Mullins has tested prenatal oxycodone and prenatal water-treated rats in a spatial learning tank and examined neurochemical changes in their brains.

“Sylvie’s background in neuroscience has been a major asset to the project,” says Schrott. “Moreover, she is hardworking and enthusiastic, which adds greatly to the success of a project. I had the privilege of having wonderful mentors throughout my research career. It is wonderful to give back to the scientific community that nurtured me by mentoring a new generation of researchers. It is especially meaningful to give students the perspective of being a researcher and professor at a larger medical school, since this is something they do not get exposure to at Lafayette.”

Schrott previously mentored LEARN student Jaime Abbazia ’05.

Now in its fifth year, LEARN provides eight to ten week paid internships hosted by alumni researchers who are leaders in their fields. The program was established in part through a grant from the McCutcheon Foundation in 2002.