“I’m inspired by the healthcare system,” says Caleb Winn. He quickly clarifies, “I’m inspired by the opportunities for change in the healthcare system.” Winn, a native of Natick, Mass., will work after graduation as an analyst for a private healthcare consulting firm, where he also completed an internship. “For an employer to get to know you, that’s the best resume you can have.” Eventually, the neuroscience major hopes to complete Fulbright research in Rwanda on improving patient compliance, or the degree to which patients follow medical advice. While at UVM, Winn founded “The Natural Philosopher,” a science news journal aimed at making research approachable for fellow undergraduates. Listen to Caleb discuss his senior thesis on WBUR’s “On Point.”

The connections between Andrea Pack’s academic interests at UVM—she majored in neuroscience and minored in math and dance—might seem obscure. But doing science is a creative process, Pack says, and she draws on all three disciplines in her graduate school research supported by a National Science Foundation grant. Working at Emory University’s Laney Graduate School in Atlanta, Pack ‘11 is exploring the process of improving the performance of sensory-guided motor behavior. Her long-term goal is to leverage the research to improve outcomes for patients recovering from brain trauma including strokes. The NSF funding supports her work at the Sober Lab at Emory, which studies the singing behavior of birds as a way of understanding the relationship between neural activity, muscular activation, and performing tasks. In the case of the Bengalese finches in Pack’s lab, that task is singing. “We’re studying how the neurons and the muscles of the birds’ vocal areas organize themselves to learn and produce their songs. We look at the muscle coordination and degrees of freedom—how they become efficient singers,” Pack says.

When Bailey Holt-Gosselin began her college search as a high-school student in South Burlington, Vt., she was looking for a place that offered a range of research opportunities to engage her interests in neuroscience and clinical psychology. She found what she was looking for in her own backyard. “I found out that UVM had a great undergraduate neuroscience program with a number of challenging and interesting courses, so I knew that I would receive a great education and solid research experience, which would thoroughly prepare me for PhD programs.” At UVM she was drawn to exploring neurobiological mechanisms underlying mood and anxiety disorders. “UVM provided me with the opportunity to work in labs that matched my research interests,” she said. After graduation, Holt-Gosselin participated in a summer research fellowship at UCLA where she examined the dopaminergic mechanisms underlying effort-based decision-making in adolescents. She moved on to become a neuroimaging research associate at Stanford University in preparation for applying to PhD programs in either clinical psychology or neuroscience. “I wouldn’t have had these amazing opportunities if I hadn't received a great education and a ton of research experience at UVM.”

Growing up in Richmond, Vt., Michael Lawler always had UVM in the back of his mind as a future destination, but like many local students, he had some reservations about attending school so close to home. That reticence vanished after a campus visit on Admitted Students' Day. “I was accepted to the Honors College, and that program was really appealing to me academically. But it was the tour that really changed my mind. The campus was beautiful, and seeing how much the tour guide loved UVM was really inspiring.” Interested in the intersection between neuroanatomy and behavior, he studied how the brain responds differently during habit-based behaviors versus goal-directed behaviors, a subject that served as the basis for his Honors Thesis. After graduation, Lawler began working at UVM Medical Center as a phlebotomist and as a scribe in the Emergency Department through ScribeAmerica. “Both jobs offer really cool, different things. Phlebotomy is giving me valuable skills and patient care experience, and I'm just seeing and learning so much in the emergency department." Lawler thinks his UVM education was critical in shaping his career goals—he plans on applying to medical school in 2018. “It wasn't until November of my senior year that I decided to apply. The exposure to the medical field through affiliation with UVM Medical Center, and from my classes and professors, gave me the confidence to pursue something as daunting as med school.”