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At Emmanuel College, neuroscience research is conducted 365 days a year – but summer time brings even more of an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in hands-on, high-impact research.
Emmanuel College’s summer research program offers students and faculty alike the distinct opportunity to collaborate on scholarly work. This summer, 45 students across multiple disciplines and Academic Schools are conducting research with Emmanuel faculty.
Throughout this series, we will highlight the research going on throughout the summer, which will conclude with a poster session in the fall.
Under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Dr. Elizabeth Crofton, neuroscience students have been taking a team-oriented approach to substance use disorder research since Dr. Crofton came to Emmanuel in 2020.
The overarching goal is to understand alcohol’s impacts on the brain. Alcohol use disorder or addiction is a large public health crisis in the United States, but plenty of people drink alcohol without developing addiction, Dr. Crofton said. The research examines the underlying individual differences in the brain that can indicate or lead to alcohol use disorder.
Using an environmental enrichment model in mice to mimic these individual differences, students are able to investigate how different surroundings and circumstances might affect brain function and behavior, offering insights into the complexities of addiction.
Students who have taken part – like Trinity Harrison ’26, a neuroscience major with a psychology minor, and Sabina Alvarez ’27, a neuroscience major working toward a global and public health minor – are exposed to a particularly high-touch research experience.
And while it helps to be able to fully focus on research, the work isn’t exclusive to just the summer. The students play a key role in the research project year-round. “Having the students conduct experiments helps me out a lot,” Dr. Crofton said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do alcohol experiments that require daily measurements, or any of this work.”
Having this opportunity to take ownership of their own research is a big deal for students – and having access to working with animals is pretty rare for a smaller college, she said.
For Harrison, who is graduating early in December 2025, acting as the student manager for this work has been a primer for taking on added responsibility and accountability in future roles. It’s her first managerial-level role in general, which has given her the chance to practice leadership and mentorship skills in support of her fellow student researchers.
“We love our research. We’ve built close connections in the lab – it’s like our own little community within the neuroscience major,” she said.
While working alongside Alvarez, Harrison has been training her to take over as student lab manager. Harrison is confident that she’s fully ready and capable to do so – and said it’s been awesome to see Alvarez learning from her and being able to do things on her own in the lab.
“I look up to Trinity a lot,” Alvarez said, “we’ve had a similar education path at Emmanuel, so she gives me advice when it comes to the lab or classes to take – or just general support.”
The support is mutual, Harrison added, and that goes for the entire neuroscience research group. They all lean on each other, hold each other accountable and provide constructive criticism when it’s needed.
Exploring the Field
Dr. Crofton said students that have worked on this research come across all the tools they would use in the neuroscience field, and get exposure to all the elements of neuroscience studies. This holistic approach allows them to form their own perspectives prior to graduation and discover what they want – or don’t want – to pursue in their careers.
With the focus on addiction, the students are building expertise in a very specific and exploratory facet of the neuroscience field, further distinguishing themselves as researchers and scientists.
Dr. Crofton hopes to publish the interesting findings in the near future – with current and past student scientists incorporated as authors – adding another valuable accomplishment to their resumes.
A Lens into the Future
Alvarez said a path into research wasn’t even a consideration for her until she heard from some of Dr. Crofton’s past students about how beneficial the experience was. She’s still considering her options, but is intrigued by the thought of working with animals in the future.
Harrison is looking toward landing an internship in the fall before she graduates. While she doesn’t know if she’ll stick with research long term – she may pursue medical school – she said she’s refined a wide variety of lab and leadership skills that will be incredibly valuable no matter where she ends up.
Between witnessing procedures up close, observing the research at a molecular level in the lab and assuming a managerial role, Harrison said the well-rounded experience has put her in an excellent position to succeed post-graduation.
They’re experimenting with innovative open-source technology as they work, which requires the use of 3D printing and soldering, as well as sophisticated video software.
There’s a crucial troubleshooting element as well, which becomes more familiar to students as they progress through their research.
“It definitely tests our patience,” Alvarez said. As someone who typically rushes on assignments, she said working in the research environment has helped her adjust that habit and become used to more gradual progress. “It helps me focus on the experiment itself – in the end, it’s the result that matters,” she added.