I am Sajida from Gilgit, Pakistan. I am a member of the Class of 2024, majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience with a minor in Statistics at St. Lawrence University. I am thrilled that I will be joining Dr. Jaime Ross's Lab at University of Rhode Island for PhD in neuroscience. Previously, I did my International Baccalaureate from UWC Costa Rica. At SLU I am involved at various leadership roles like community assistant, student worker at the Launder's Science Library, Intern at the Language Resource Center and Student Researcher. I am interested in research that focuses on behavior analysis in the lab, hence working as a student researcher in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) Lab with Dr. Adam Fox. I have been part of the lab for the past 3 years including the summers, where we investigated behaviors like impulsivity, social anxiety, memory, and time perception mainly as a result of early life stress. I am interested in continuing my research on the impacts of early life adversity on later neurobiological and psychological processes. In addition, I am passionate about introducing menstrual hygiene management and fighting period poverty in the underprivileged areas of Gilgit, Pakistan. My project "Cycle Care Campaign" aims to reach out to menstruators living in those areas and provide them with awareness and necessary sanitary products. This spring semester during my study abroad program at DIS in Denmark, my research was focused on the cognitive neuroscience of consciousness, more specifically the unconscious thought process and its impact on moral decision-making. During the semester I got a chance to explore my interest in cognitive neuroscience in Florence Italy as part of my study tour. This summer I got the opportunity to explore my interest in the field of mental wellness and psychiatry Psychiatric Clinic, Drug Addiction Treatment, and Rehabilitation Centre, Islamabad Pakistan, supervised by Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Malik. During these eight weeks shadowing the psychiatric consultant of the center, I learned about the prevalent issues amongst Pakistanis amidst the political and economic crisis.
Projects
