Caitlyn Edwards

Why FSU?
I came to FSU to follow and continue working with my mentor.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree
I absolutely fell in love with the brain and was fascinated with studying how different brain processes and circuits contribute to behavior.

Importance and impact of research
My research explores circuits underlying learned avoidance behaviors with a focus on how information from the body, especially "gut feelings," influences avoidance. This basic research has potential future implications for treatment and prevention of fear and stress-related disorders, like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Advice for prospective graduate students
I would recommend anyone considering graduate school take the time to decide what they are truly passionate about. Graduate school can be a lot of work, but it can also be pretty enjoyable if you love what you are doing.

Accomplishments during graduate career
P.E.O. Scholar Award (2021); NIH NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31) (2020); Joseph H. Grosslight Teaching Scholarship; APF/COGDOP (2019); Graduate Student Research Scholarship; Bryan Robinson Neuroscience Endowment Award; Bryan Robinson Neuroscience Endowment Honorable Mention; Graduate Research Day (GRD) Excellence Award - Best Talk: Second Place; GRD Excellence Award - Best Poster Presentation: Neuroscience; Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) Best Poster Presentation Award.

Career aspirations
I would like to be a professor at a liberal arts college continuing to both teach about and perform research in behavioral neuroscience.