"My name is Lesley Colgan and I work in the lab of Ryohei Yasuda at Max Planck Florida
Institute for Neuroscience.
We study learning and memory in the brain.
More specifically we're studying synaptic plasticity.
This is the ability for a neuron to change the strength to strengthen or weaken connections
that it makes to other neurons.
Now this is a major quest in neuroscience.
Not only because it might help us answer questions such as how do we form a memory but also because
this process when it goes wrong is central to many brain disorders.
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease as well as neurodevelopmental disorders
such as schizophrenia.
So one thing that I really enjoy about working in a lab is that you're in control of your
own project.
You have control over your day.
You choose what experiments you work on that day and what order you're going to do things
in and so you're sort of your own manager.
I was born in Connecticut.
I grew up in a very supportive family.
My dad immigrated from Ireland when he was 19.
Met my mom a few years later, who grew up in America.
And they really instilled in me the values of working hard but most importantly of believing
in myself.
That sort of value is something that I carry with me every day as I come to work and one
that I hope to pass onto my children as well as to other scientists in the lab.
As an undergraduate I had the opportunity to have some research experience in a lab
and I think it was that first research experience where I really knew that I wanted to be a
scientist.
I just really loved the idea that I was contributing new knowledge to the world and this idea of
discovery was really attractive to me.
So growing up I had a close friend who had really severe depression and unfortunately
we lost her due to suicide and so this really hit home with me and I, really encouraged
me to try to continue to work on understanding how the brain works normally so that we may
be able to use this information to guide us when we're trying to understand mental disorders
in the future.
So I'm going to introduce the optical sensors for a protein kinase activity into the brain
slices here.
Your biolistics, so we...
I also have family now.
I have two young children and balancing a scientific career with a family is at times
difficult.
However there are also a lot of benefits.
Your working hours are very flexible.
If you're considering a career in biomedical research, my advice to you is to get your
hands dirty.
Go out and find an opportunity to do some research, even if you're not sure it's for
you.
This will allow you to see if your personality is the right kind of personality for research.
You need to be persistent, hardworking, independent, able to overcome obstacles and most of all
you need to have a passion for discovery or for learning about whatever it is in science
that you find interesting."