Madeline Awad

Club Neuro members watch as Dr. Joseph Doughtery presents his research on psychiatry and genetic disorders. The club was established in 2017 as an outlet for students to explore neuroscience.“I think a future goal for Club Neuro is for members to be able to help others in the community and gain education in neuroscience,”Adireddi said. “One way we do this is through members designing educational posters, which we can then send out to hospitals and local clinics to improve patients’ awareness of uncommon neurological disorders.”

Club Neuro welcomed speaker Dr. Joseph Dougherty, a scientist exploring the genetic and cellular basis of psychiatric disorders, Jan. 13.

Club Neuro frequently invites educational speakers to present on complex neurological topics. Members find these presentations to not only be a space to connect with like-minded peers interested in neuroscience, but also a time where speakers like Dr. Joseph Dougherty offers insight into studies that research members may have otherwise never been exposed to at the high school level. 

“I think that speakers definitely engage the members in the world of neuroscience and introduce them to parts of the field they may not have thought about before,” Co-President Sanjay Adireddi (12) said.

Dr. Joseph Dougherty explored his team’s research and the development of his discoveries. Members were able to learn how he and his team took one patient case and transformed it into a large-scale study, impacting the lives of many.

“[I enjoyed] learning how Dr. Joseph Dougherty’s research connects to the clinical side with actual patients and seeing the real impact in someone’s life,” Adireddi said. 

For some, this experience was a gateway to the field of neuroscience and all the opportunities for future research still out there.

“It showed me how vast neurological disorders are and how they are not very well understood, and that is something you could really get into and be inspired to fix the problem,” Moriah Jackson (12) said.