Research Rookies Student Profiles

Name: Rachel Murphy

Cohort: Freshman Research Rookie

Major: Psychology

Hometown: New Lenox, Illinois

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Angela Grippo

One fact that is immediately clear upon talking to freshman Rachel Murphy is that she is dedicated, determined, and passionate. She wants to be a human psychologist, yet she decided to work with prairie voles for her first college research project.

Rachel Murphy’s goal is to become a “good psychologist” as she terms it, so that she can leave a positive impression on everyone she works with. She has a particular interest in anxiety and depression studies, which is what caught her attention with Dr. Grippo’s prairie vole research. For Rachel’s project, she will be comparing the effects of stress on isolated and paired animals, and comparing male versus female reactions to stress. This will help show the overall effects of stress on anxiety and depression, and how those effects are presented in the voles.

Despite Rachel’s goals of becoming a human psychologist, she is clearly not afraid to do whatever she can to get involved, gain a head start, and make connections within her field. She has not started her own project with the voles yet, but is actually excited to do so. Rachel’s willingness to jump in and learn about her interests in human psychology through animals shows how committed she is to her goals and to her project. She is very excited to begin gathering data for her study, and cannot wait to see what happens next.

Rachel on what being a Research Rookie means: “Being a Research Rookie means getting the opportunity to do amazing research as an undergrad.  It also allows us to form a friendship/workmanship with the mentor of our choice.  It gives us a head start to exploring our major.”