Editor's Corner
I am elated for the launch of the 19th edition of Eukaryon, and I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to making it a reality. We received many incredible submissions this year and are honored to highlight and celebrate the academic contributions and success of the science community at Lake Forest College. I am inspired by the editorial board that has worked diligently to ensure the success of this edition and would like to recognize the board chairs that coordinated it all. Due to the pandemic, Eukaryon was restructured to have two members as the board chairs, a senior and a lower classman. This system has been instrumental in the journal’s success in that the leaders are trained through experience. Due to Eukaryon’s continued success, we will be having the Inauguration ceremony in person for the first time since 2019 with the theme of this edition “Beauty in Science.”
The beauty of science surrounds us in every way, from the magnificence of nature all the way down to single cellular organisms. The manner in which life is organized is an undeniable source of amazement. A prime example is the central dogma of life; how DNA is transcribed into RNA, that is then translated into protein to create the diversity of life. The same 20 amino acids that make up you and I are the same as those that make up a jellyfish! As a researcher, another way in which I find beauty in science is the scientific process. We are able to make observations, based off of which we formulate hypotheses, test them and extend our knowledge, whether or not our hypotheses are supported. Science is the art of asking questions, and beauty is the process of exploring those curiosities. The purpose of Eukaryon is to highlight this beauty through scientific publication.
Our featured speaker this year is Dr. Jean-Marie Maddux. She is a member of the psychology department and the neuroscience program. Her specializations are behavioral neuroscience and behavioral pharmacology motivation, associative learning, attention and learning addiction and incentive salience. Dr. Maddux received her bachelor’s in science from Binghamton University in New York, where she graduated magna cum laude. After which she completed her master’s and PhD in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and went on to Concordia University to do her post-doctoral research fellowship. Dr. Maddux has been at Lake Forest since 2017 and teaches Neuroscience and Behavior and Introduction to Psychology Laboratory. Some of the courses she taught at her previous institutions include Fundamentals of Learning at Concordia University and Alcohol Use and Abuse: From the Pub to the Lab at Johns Hopkins. At the Inauguration of the 19th edition, the title of her talk is “Booze cues: Mechanisms of Pavlovian conditioned alcohol-seeking in rats.” Dr. Maddux is a pillar of the science community where she has published numerous articles, conducted a vibrant research lab where she has supervised numerous students including Richter and senior thesis students.
I would like to acknowledge a few individuals, without whom this edition would not have been a possibility. First, I would like to thank our faculty advisor, Dr. Flavia Barbosa. Her infallible advice, unwavering support and genuine investment in the journal’s success and our wellbeing has been pivotal in our journey towards success. I am also grateful for Dr. Shubhik DebBurman’s resourcefulness and enthusiasm whenever we needed his guidance. I’d also like to thank Ian Schappe for his assistance with setting up the website. Thank you to my fellow Eukaryon members who have worked exceptionally hard at every step of the journal’s process to guarantee the 19th edition’s success, your effort and dedication have made this possible. Lastly, I would like to thank the student and faculty who submitted to Eukaryon. This journey is a celebration of your work, and we are privileged to publish it. We hope you find pleasure in reading the 19th edition of Eukaryon.
Sincerely,
Tracey Nassuna
Editor-in-Chief, Eukaryon, 2022-2023
About the Editor
Tracey Cynthia Nassuna ’23 is from Kampala, Uganda. She is double majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology. She is a member of the Nu Rho Psi National Neuroscience Honor Society and the Neuroscience Student Advisory Academic Committee 2022-23. She is also the current Editor-in-Chief for Eukaryon. She loves being a part of the Science community at LFC, where she is completing her senior thesis in Dr. DebBurman’s lab and enjoyed being a peer teacher for BIOL130. After graduation, she will be starting her Neuroscience PhD.