Undergraduate research experiences provide glimpse into life as a WVU neuroscientist

There are a host of summer camps and experiences for all ages during the summer at West Virginia University, but a particular program in the Department of Neuroscience in the WVU School of Medicine gives undergraduate students a full glimpse into life as a cutting-edge researcher.

The Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Opportunity program provides a small cohort access to WVU’s neuroscience research culture, facilities and resources and the chance to interact with innovative techniques and projects, in addition to a research stipend and lodging.

The benefit of the program is two-fold. Organizers find the program meets a growing need for neuroscience graduate-level students with research experience. In return, those students often return to the University to pursue a post-graduate degree, citing the experiences in the program as a major factor in their decision.

Claire Melvin is currently a Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences program. Coming from Centre College in Kentucky, she was excited to experience the day-to-day bench work in a lab that addresses substance abuse.

In addition to those bench skills – behavior scoring, drug mixing and ethical mice handling – Melvin also got to develop verbal scientific communication and scientific literature review skills.

But something deeper was also established for her.

“I was able to live in Morgantown for two months, which helped me figure out that I love living here. If I hadn’t spent those months here, I might have never had the courage to move away from all of my loved ones in Kentucky,” she said. “I also learned that the staff and students in the Biomedical Sciences graduate program are a welcoming and supportive community that I wanted to join.”

Claire was able to experience the land-grant mission in action, working with several University programs focused on alleviating the complex addiction problem and the underlying causes.

“I was able to shadow at the Comprehensive Opioid Addiction Treatment Program and the WVU Center for Hope and Healing. Both of these experiences helped me to better understand how the work that we were doing in the lab affects real people. It also helped me realize that I want to do neuropsychiatric research in order to improve and individualize treatment for complex disorders such as substance use disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD and more,” she said.

Throughout the nine-week, in-person experience, students focus on one of four areas – sensory, cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, neural injury, neurodegeneration and neuropsychiatric diseases – as they work alongside faculty mentors.

That was the main draw for Victoria Shifflett, also a Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences program, who wanted to explore more about what the University offers.

“Having done my undergraduate studies at WVU, I was already very familiar with the school but I was able to learn more about the Department of Neuroscience as I spent my summer there. I was able to network with faculty members and learn more about the research their labs did and weigh how they matched my interests,” she said. “These interactions were huge in my decision to stay at WVU. I was able to find my current lab and solidify that neuroscience was what I wanted to pursue. WVU is a great place – there’s a culture of collaboration between internal labs and with other schools.”

For complete program details, visit the Department of Neuroscience website.

Any additional questions or requests to be notified of the opening of the 2025 NURO application portal can be directed to Becca Rohn.