Katelyn Caldarone, Bryant University

Katelyn Caldarone, (2022 SURF participant and 2023 SURF+ participant), presented her research at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington D.C. and won the competitive travel award ($1,000) from the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience to attend this conference. Caldarone KD, Song SL, Cortez E, Savory NT, Kaun, KR, Scaplen KM (2023). “Mapping dopaminergic neural substrates of alcohol-associated behaviors in Drosophila.”

“I’ve been so fortunate to have been offered the opportunity to work in Dr. Kristin Scaplen’s RI-INBRE research lab since Fall 2021 and to conduct full time research during the 2022 and 2023 SURF programs. I truly believe that joining Dr. Scaplen’s research program was one of the best decisions I made while an undergraduate at Bryant University. I’ve received such excellent mentorship and training that has really motivated me to continue to pursue research post-graduation. As a psychology major, I initially thought I would pursue a career as a clinician. However, after taking an introductory psychopathology course, I had a strong inclination towards studying the underlying neurological and molecular mechanisms of the complex psychological disorders we studied in class. Within minutes of receiving Dr. Scaplen’s email announcing openings for research assistants in her lab, I replied with interest. My enthusiasm for being a member of her lab hasn’t wavered ever since. Since starting in the lab, I’ve been working on a project investigating distinct dopamine microcircuits that modulate alcohol induced locomotor activity in Drosophila melanogaster. My work on this project has provided me significant training in conducting behavioral neuroscience experiments and have contributed to me gaining computational skills such as computer vision and programming for data analysis. I’ve not only had meaningful experiences within the lab but have also had various opportunities to present my work at several regional, national, and international conferences including the Northeast Under/graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience 2022, 2022 Boston Area Drosophila Meeting, RI Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium 2022 and 2023, National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence 2022, and Society for Neuroscience 2022 and 2023. I consider myself to be particularly shy, however, my confidence absolutely flourishes when communicating my science with other students, scientists, and members of the public. My experiences in the research lab and the full-time research experiences I’ve gained from being part of the SURF programs have solidified my intent to pursue a PhD in Neuroscience following my graduation from Bryant University in May 2024. I applied this past fall and am hopeful to matriculate in a Neuroscience Graduate Program this upcoming fall. I’m primarily interested in studying how neural circuits function and change in the context of disease. I’m enthusiastic about what my future in research holds and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to conduct research over the past few years. I truly believe participating in research as an undergraduate is an amazing opportunity to discover one’s passions in science. I’ve experienced significant growth as a trainee and these experiences have given me the opportunity to gain the confidence and competencies necessary to pursue research at the graduate level.