Dan Peterson
Laboratory Assistant
Name: Daniel Petersen
City born: Chardon, Ohio
Majors: Neuroscience, Psychology
Minors: Chemistry, Biology
Other interest or hobbies: weight lifting, running, golf, gaming, martial arts
Long term goals: My long term goal is attend a dual doctorate degree program to obtain a Ph.D in a Neuroscience discipline, and a MD and focus on Neurology. After graduate school, I would like to practice medicine and apply neuroscience research to the clinical setting.
How I became involved in the lab: I first became involved in the lab by being mentored by Gina Wilson during her completion of her Neuroscience Thesis. I also aided her in completing laboratory procedures as part of her Neuroscience Thesis. During that time, I was also exposed to the lab through my Physiological Psychology class. I learned fundamental neuroscience laboratory procedures such as stereotaxic surgery, perfusions, brain slicing, mounting, staining, neural imaging, brain dissection and neural anatomy identification. I later expressed further interest in becoming a Neuroscience lab assistant to Dr. Mickley and became further involved in lab’s research.
Your experience working at the lab: My experience working at the lab has been educational, exciting, and fun! I have worked with some great people on projects that cover neuroscience research areas such as Alzheimer’s disease, conditioned fear/aversion responses, and fear extinction. I have performed stereotaxic surgery, perfusions, numerous C-fos assays, and other neuroscience laboratory procedures. I have also been able to pursue my own research interest in completing an independent project. I have learned more about other disciplines and research areas of Neuroscience through reading journal articles and participating in the lab’s journal club.
How you think the lab is helping you obtain your long term goals: The lab is helping me obtain my long term goals by preparing me for research in neuroscience, graduate school, and other medical disciplines. The lab helps gain a greater knowledge and appreciation for scientific journal articles and the many disciplines and subject that they cover. The lab has also familiarized me with other research/researchers across the country and world. In addition, it has prepared me for graduate research programs by teaching me laboratory practices and procedures. By participating in lab meetings and talking with other students and Dr. Mickley; I have expanded my knowledge and exploration of neuroscience research. This has helped me become more creative with research ideas and is preparing me for a bright future in scientific research.
E-mail: dpeterson@bw.edu
275 Eastland Rd.