From: Long Island, NY
Education: Caitlin received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware where she graduated with Honors, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Biochemistry and Italian. She then received her MS in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Delaware before coming to the University of Michigan, where she has since received her MS in Psychology.
How she ended up here: After completing her MS in Behavioral Neuroscience, Caitlin became extremely interested in behavioral neuroimmunology and wanted to study additional ways that neuroimmune activation impacted cognition. This is what attracted her to the Tronson lab.
Research interests: Caitlin’s primary research interests are to understand the mechanisms underlying inflammation in the brain and how aberrant neuroimmune signaling subsequently affects cognitive processes.
What she’s studied in the past: At the University of Delaware, Caitlin worked with Dr. Jaclyn Schwarz studying the resident immune cells of the brain, microglia. Here, she also came to appreciate the importance of studying sex differences in neuroscience research. For her Master’s thesis in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Delaware, Caitlin investigated the impact of neuroimmune activation and physical stress during pregnancy on postpartum depression and anxiety like behaviors in rat dams. At the University of Michigan in the Tronson lab, Caitlin’s Master’s thesis in Psychology looked at the ways in which the central administration of poly I:C induces sex specific deficits in learning and memory.
What she’s studying now: As a PhD student, Caitlin has been studying sex differences in the neuroimmune modulation of learning and memory processes in mice, allowing her to take her behavioral neuroimmune interests and apply them to cognitive functions like learning and memory – an area of research she’d like to continue working in with a postdoctoral fellowship.
Involvements outside of the Tronson lab: When she’s not in lab or analyzing data, Caitlin is working to increase engagement in science research. She helped create and has been a mentor for the Psychology department’s STAR Scholars program for undergraduates. STAR stands for Students Tackling Advanced Research, and the program aims to increase diversity in students that participate in undergraduate research. The program is designed to teach students the ins and outs of what it means to do undergraduate research, and dos and don’ts when it comes to finding, applying, and interviewing for positions. In addition to STAR Scholars, Caitlin is also a Science Communication Fellow through the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History where she designed a hands-on learning activity, and volunteers for events every semester at the local Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti libraries, schools, and the museum to try to get younger students more interested in science. Caitlin also volunteers with BrainsRule! in a few events each year to try to increase student interest in brain science and other STEM fields.
Hobbies/Fun Facts: Outside of academia between September and October, you can find Caitlin trying to out-do her previous year’s halloween costume and makeup and otherwise drinking coffee and either keeping up with news about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or watching cooking competition shows (mainly Master Chef and anything else Gordon Ramsay or featuring barbecue food) and fantasizing about being that good of a cook one day.
Twitter: @Science_Caitlin
Email: ckpos at umich.edu