Dr. Andrew Ying
Alexis Hill ’04, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Barnard College, recently returned to the Hilltop to speak with Independent Science Research and Neuroscience classes.
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Professor Hill shared both her fascinating research and invaluable life lessons with our young scientists. She discussed her research using a fruit fly model to understand how environmental stressors, such as heat, affect neurons and glial cells, which could have applications in understanding the treatment of seizures.
Students were captivated by her findings, with one noting: "Her study utilized fruit flies to focus on seizures and how both the brain and genes react to environmental stressors," and another remarking that, "Dr. Hill was able to find the most significant results from investigating activity in the glial cells that she did not expect to reveal."
Professor Hill also shared thoughtful life lessons about navigating an uncertain future. One student was particularly moved by her tree diagram analogy: "I really liked Dr. Hill's advice with the tree diagram of pathways: each pathway you choose opens a million others. While it may be easy to regret decisions we make, it's important to remember that there are always new doors to go through, as long as we take advantage of them." Another student appreciated Dr. Hill's encouragement "to try new things to find out what we're truly passionate about."
Thank you, Dr. Hill, for reminding our students that unexpected discoveries in both the lab and in life can lead to the most rewarding outcomes!
