Hannah Dodson
Greetings. My name is Hannah Dodson, and I received my Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Baldwin Wallace University. Ever since I realized my goal was to get my Ph.D. in neuroscience (with a focus on sex differences and endocrinological stress), I knew I needed to take time to align my values with my actions and, most importantly, experience the real implications of my research. Over the last year in Louisville, I was able to do some incredibly meaningful work that has truly changed my life. However, due to massive National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health censorship and cuts to their funding that primarily helps early-career scientists like me, graduate school continues to be an ongoing battle. The YAV program has been kind enough to grant me another year to find a lab with funding to continue on to my culminating degree.
I cannot express how grateful I am for the YAV program’s support, but I also cannot express how terrifying the state of scientific research is currently. Please understand that all science matters and needs to be funded. Science sometimes seems trivial, but please know that when done correctly and ethically, it will always lay the foundation that guides revolutionary technology to help progress humankind and our understanding and influence on Earth further than we knew it could. From micro-bacterial research to planetary geophysics research– understanding our world will only ever bring innovation and discovery.
This last year, I was able to meet, live with, and serve the people my research will one day help. I will continue to meet with and serve those people throughout this next year. Even when I transition back into academia, my experiences and faith are always going to be at the forefront of my research, and they will not remain within the confines of my YAV years.
