NEW YORK, NY — Columbia undergraduates working in Zuckerman Institute labs recently showcased their research at Encephalon, an annual meeting run by the Columbia Neuroscience Society, an undergrad group. Here, meet four undergrads.
Simon Ogundare, a graduating senior in the Abdus-Saboor lab and the Denny lab, is exploring the effects of co-morbidity — when a patient has two or more diseases or conditions.
"Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from chronic pain, and nearly 54 percent of those with chronic pain also have co-occurring mental conditions, such as depression and anxiety," he said. "Does a history of depression change the way a person experiences chronic pain?"
Ogundare, who was born in New York, moved with his family to Nigeria when he was 4-years-old, living there for about five years. "In Nigeria, sickle cell disease is really common, and I have family members who have the disease," Ogundare said. Sickle cell disease can cause a lot of pain, "so I thought a lot about pain from causes that you can see, such as a cut or bruise, and pain with no visibility to it," he said.
I thought a lot about pain from causes that you can see, such as a cut or bruise, and pain with no visibility to it.
This helped lead Ogundare to neuroscience, where he hopes to discover how the brain represents this inner experience of pain. "We have models of depression, we have models of anxiety — we have ways of showing that those experiences are real," Ogundare said.
He is especially interested in how physical and mental manifestations of pain converge. "When patients experience both, do you treat them as if they are separate, or are there ways to treat that intersection?" Ogundare said.
Emily Kalfas, a junior in the Salzman lab, is “interested in the ways in which we experience the world and how that shapes the decisions we make," she says. Kalfas is researching how animals encode positive and negative emotional states. She uses computers to decode their behavior and electrophysiology to analyze brain activity. “The more we understand the basic encoding of emotions in animals, the more we can help human patients with related psychiatric conditions,” she explained.
When Kalfas was younger, she wanted to be a professor of philosophy, but she pivoted to science. "I've also always wanted to teach," she said. Currently she teaches classes at KIPP STAR Middle School in Harlem and Beacon High School in Manhattan. "It's something I really enjoy," Kalfas said. It also helps her with her goals — she is teaching health because she is a pre-med student, and teaching science because she wants to get better at science communication to help her pursue a PhD.
Recently, Kalfas was part of a group that received support from the Zuckerman Institute for a new program to build DIY fluorescence microscopes for school-aged children.
Lochlan Krupa is a sophomore in the Bendesky lab investigating the genetics of the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), commonly known as the betta fish. For centuries, bettas were bred in Southeast Asia for fighting, and starting in the early 20th century, they were also bred as ornamental, domestic pets.
Krupa is examining a gene, Bco1l, which is linked with color in betta fish. The gene is also associated with β-carotene, which is important to health and fitness not only in the fish but in humans. His work suggests the gene is highly connected with immunity, enough so that knocking it out can lead to lethal bacterial infections.
Krupa noted that he is from a rural area in the Pacific Northwest. "I spent much of my formative years outdoors, climbing trees, catching snakes and frogs, and trying to commit every edible plant in the region to memory,” he said. “I have known for a long time that the study of life is what fascinates me most."
In the past two years, through his experiences in the Bendesky lab and his coursework, Krupa has developed a keen interest in genetics.
"DNA is the fundamental basis of the incredible diversity of life and allows us to directly demonstrate the connections we share with all living things," he said. "A better understanding of microbiology and evolution can only help us to better understand ourselves and our interactions with the living world."
Sam Szalkowski is a graduating senior in the Bendesky lab who is also investigating the genetics of betta fish, but with a focus on their aggression. "We are looking for genes that contribute to the regulation of aggression by identifying genes potentially linked with this behavior, creating genetically modified fish with these genes knocked out, and observing any change in behavior," he said.
Szalkowski's mother is a family practice doctor. "That’s why many of my initial forays into science were framed through a more medical, human-centered mindset," he said. Although he initially planned to major in biology, a psychology course in college caused him to swerve. "I realized I wanted to focus on the biological aspects and underpinnings of psychology," he said. "I've found working with model organisms like Betta to be extremely interesting and rewarding," said Szalkowski.
All in all, "I love that neuroscience is so full of unknowns," he said. "Many if not all areas of the sciences still contain unknowns, but the brain and how it works are mostly a mystery to us at the moment, more so than other fields."
