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Lewis Accepted to Summer Neuroscience Program in Greece

Skip breadcrumb navigation COLLEGE STATION, Texas (March 13, 2006) – Danielle K. Lewis, a member of Dr. Farida Sohrabji's lab and graduate student in the Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics Department, has been accepted into the Vivian Smith Advanced Studies Institute of the International Neuropsychological Society . Lewis will study neuroscience in Xylocastro, Greece from June 18 to July 15. Participants in the summer study program receive a stipend to defer travel and lodging costs , and tuition is waived.

"The requirements for this award were based on good academic status and how closely my personal goals as a neuroscientist correlated with the courses that would be taught over the summer," Lewis says. "I was very excited to get this award as the courses they are offering do fit very closely with my research interests."

Lewis' current project focuses on the effects of estrogen on inflammation and repair of the basal forebrain following injury in two distinct female populations : young reproductively competent female rats and ovarian-aged female rats that are reproductively senescent. Her work has specifically targeted the basal forebrain because it is a region of the brain that is particularly vulnerable to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States.

The topics that Lewis will study this summer focus on measurement tools used to examine cognitive function (eg. functional MRI, SPECT, and PET) and understanding age-related neuroanatomical changes . The program will also explore the effects of lifestyle , such as diet and exercise , and age-related changes (eg. estrogen depletion) that can influence the risk of neurodegeration, synaptogenesis, plasticity and regeneration in adulthood. Additionally, the institute offers a comprehensive course on the relationship between structure and function for clinically relevant regions in the brain.

"All of these courses fit very well with my dissertation work," Lewis says. "The comprehensive course will be most beneficial in preparing me for an academic career where I will likely be asked to teach a course in exploring structure/function relationships."

For more information about the Vivian Smith Advanced Studies Institute of the International Neuropsychological Society , visit: http://www.uth.tmc.edu/clinicalneuro/institute/2006/index.html.
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