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Track: Molecular Neuroscience
Age: 23
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa. |
Curiosity motivates Chris. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a 6-year-old, he has been intimately exposed to medicine ever since. Even as a child he remembers peppering his doctor with cellular- and organ-level questions related to his condition.
"The concept of asking a question and coming to an answer through a set of experiments has always fascinated me. It fuels my curiosity."
The summer after high school, Chris worked in a diabetes research laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The experience cemented his desire to pursue scientific research as a career.
"Since then, I decided not to research diabetes. Neuroscience fascinates me far more, so I am pursuing my greatest interest instead of conducting research out of
self-concern."
He is now in his second year as a Ph.D. student at Mayo Clinic. His thesis will focus on how the immune and nervous systems interact and modulate one another. Someday he would like to tie his neuroscience research into his passion for the environmental sciences.
"I like being outdoors, and to have a graduate program in a smaller city like Rochester is a rarity. Mayo's program allows me to pursue my professional career while enjoying the extracurricular activities I love such as running, hiking, backpacking, skiing and practicing several martial arts."
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