May 25, 2022
Meghan O'Toole
Student honored with national-level Nu Rho Psi research grant
Tracey Nassuna '23 was recently recognized as a recipient of a 2022 Nu Rho Psi Undergraduate Research Grant to support her proposed senior thesis, "Evaluation of Beta-Synuclein Toxicity in a Yeast Model."
The grant is one of a number of national awards designated by Nu Rho Psi to fund high quality research projects conducted by undergraduate student members of Nu Rho Psi. Recipients are supported by up to $1,000 in funding to be used in the summer of 2022 or throughout the 2022-23 academic year.
As part of the recognition, Nassuna will travel to San Diego, California in November 2022 to present her research at the 2022 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
Nassuna, a Davis Scholar who is double majoring in neuroscience and psychology, was a Richter Scholar in Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean of Faculty Matthew Kelley’s memory research lab last summer. It was there that she began research in earnest.
Nassuna developed her current project regarding Beta-Synuclein toxicity in yeast her junior year in preparation for her senior thesis. She plans to pursue a PhD in neuropsychology after graduation.
Tracey is the fifth student from Lake Forest College to receive this grant from Nu Rho Psi since 2015. Previous Lake Forest College recipients are Alexandra Roman ’16, Paul Jones ’18, Ariane Balaram ’20, and Carris Borland ’21. These students have gone on to pursue medical degrees, PhDs, and research at institutions such as University of Wisconsin Madison, University of Pennsylvania, and Washington University in Saint Louis.
Nassuna was also a recipient of a 2022 Davis Projects for Peace grant. This summer, she will travel back to her home country of Uganda to support the fight against the stigma of Parkinson's disease with Amanda Grassel '23.