Erskine Award

The Mary Erskine Undergraduate Research Award was established in 2009 in memory of former UROP director and CAS Biology professor, Mary Erskine. Dr. Erskine was a vigorous supporter of undergraduate research and a strong advocate of inclusion of women and minorities in scientific research.

The Erskine Award supports one student conducting summer research in the field of neurobiology. The UROP Faculty Advisory Committee selects the recipient of this award from the funded summer applicant pool.

Current Awardee

Summer 2022

Katie McCabe
Project Title: Does Social Complexity Select for Individual Simplicity? A Comparative Test of Theory Using Dolichoderus Ants and Automated Tracking Software
Mentor: James Traniello, CAS Biology



Previous Awardees

Summer 2021

Riley McDonald
Project Title: The Effect of 4-AP on Action Potential and Synaptic Potential in the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction 
Mentor: Jen Wei-Lin, CAS Biology

Summer 2020

Meaghan Connolly
Project Title:Examining the function of the C3 receptor in C4-induced connectivity deficits during early cortical development
Mentor: Alberto Cruz Martin, CAS Biology

Summer 2019

Shivani Raghunath Rao
Project title: Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Mint1 Autoinhibition in Alzheimer’s Disease
Mentor: Angela Ho, CAS Biology

Summer 2018

Frances Hausmann
Project title: Elucidating the role of microglia in complement-mediated synaptic elimination in the mouse prefrontal cortex
Mentor: Alberto Cruz-Martin, CAS Biology

Summer 2017

Sara Simpson
Project title: The Role of Acetylcholine in Temporal Plasticity
Mentor: Jeffrey Gavornik, CAS Biology

Summer 2016

Camila de Freitas
Project title: Hippocampal Neuronal Activity Following Inactivation of Lateral Entorhinal Cortex
Mentor: Howard Eichenbaum, CAS Psychological & Brain Sciences

Summer 2015

Benjamin Coleman
Project Title: Investigating the Flaws and Potential Improvements of the Diagnostic Protocols of Alzheimer’s Disease – Studies on Subjective Memory Complaints as a Preclinical Sign of Alzheimer’s Disease
Mentor: Karin Schon, MED Anatomy & Neurobiology

Summer 2014

Danielle Doctor
Project Title: Using Optogenetics to Inhibit Accessory Olfactory System Responses to Female Pheromones in Male Mice
Mentor: Michael Baum, CAS Biology

Summer 2013

Alyson Alfonso
Project Title: Novel Word Learning Task: A Model of Lexical and Nonlexical Reading Methods
Mentor: Jacqueline Liederman, CAS Psychology

Summer 2012

Curtis Hon
Project Title: A Sex Comparison of Lhx6 Expression in Specific Segments of the Murine Olfactory Pathway
Mentor: Michael Baum, CAS Biology

Summer 2011

Michael Connerney
Project Title: Possible Theta Oscillatory Mechanisms Enable Time-dependent Activity of Grid Cells
Mentor: Michael Hasselmo, CAS Psychology

Summer 2010

Kaltra Dhima
Project Title: Longitudinal Analysis of Vision, Visuospatial Cognition, and Daily Function in Parkinson’s Disease
Mentor: Alice Cronin-Golomb, CAS Psychology

Summer 2009

Ashish Bhandari
Project Title: Light Dependent Translocation of Gqa in Drosophila Retina
Mentor: Susan Tsunoda, CAS Biology