{"id":1165,"date":"2025-07-20T13:06:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/?page_id=1165"},"modified":"2025-08-27T12:29:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T17:29:52","slug":"faculty-led-research-in-neuroscience","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/faculty-led-research-in-neuroscience\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty-Led Research in Neuroscience"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-modular-content-collection>\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__explore panel panel-explore site-section__bg--normal\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"explore\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner l-wrapper  explore\">\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    <div class=\"site-panel__explore-chevron site-panel-shape-bbc--gold-navy\"><\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"site-grid site-grid__wrapper site-section__content site-panel__explore-content\">\n\n        <div class=\"t-content site-panel__explore-desc site-grid__col site-grid__col--flex-2\">\n            \n\n            <p data-start=\"247\" data-end=\"633\">At St. Olaf, neuroscience research is vibrant, collaborative, and deeply interdisciplinary\u2014reflecting the broad nature of the field itself. Faculty in neuroscience are active researchers across departments including Biology, Psychology, Physics, and their projects explore everything from cellular mechanisms to cognitive behavior, clinical practice, and public health.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"635\" data-end=\"1077\">Our students play a central role in this research, contributing to the design, execution, and analysis of experiments, and frequently co-authoring publications or presenting at national conferences. Whether you&#8217;re interested in understanding the sensory systems of insects, the effects of substances on brain function, or neural correlates of spatial memory, you&#8217;ll find a place to engage deeply with neuroscience in and out of the classroom.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Students&#8217; Experience Exploring Neuroscience and Sound Around the World<\/em><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/multimedia\/play\/embed\/?p=1306\" width=\"848\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/h4>\n\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n            <\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--light\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--gray site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<figure  class=\"c-image c-image--rect\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" alt=\"Crisp\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/Crisp-820x600.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 1260px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/Crisp-520x300.jpg 520w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/Crisp-820x600.jpg 820w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/Crisp-1120x900.jpg 1120w\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-kevin-crisp-biology\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Kevin Crisp \u2013 Biology<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/profile\/crisp\">Dr. Crisp<\/a>\u2019s lab bridges biology and biomedical research, offering students opportunities to contribute to real-world applications such as skeletal repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). His work in collegiate emergency medicine provides hands-on experience with clinical data, focusing on neurological conditions like altered mental status and syncope, perfect for students interested in health professions, forensic science, or public health.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--white\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--white site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<figure  class=\"c-image c-image--rect\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" alt=\"demas\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/demas-820x600.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 1260px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/demas-520x300.jpg 520w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/demas-820x600.jpg 820w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/demas-1120x900.jpg 1120w\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-jay-demas-biology-physics\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Jay Demas \u2013 Biology &amp; Physics<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/profile\/demas\">Dr. Demas<\/a> investigates how the nervous system processes light and magnetic information\u2014two of the most enigmatic sensory modalities. His interdisciplinary lab combines molecular biology, electrophysiology, and physics to study circadian regulation via melanopsin and explore the cutting-edge mechanisms of animal magnetoreception. Students gain valuable experience in neurophysiology and sensory neuroscience using innovative cross-disciplinary tools.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--light\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--gray site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<figure  class=\"c-image c-image--rect\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" alt=\"NOR heatmap\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/NOR-heatmap.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 1260px, 100vw\" srcset=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-shelly-dickinson-psychology\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Shelly Dickinson \u2013 Psychology<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/psych\/shelly-dickinson\/\">Dr. Dickinson<\/a>\u2019s lab focuses on how psychoactive substances like alcohol, antidepressants, and delta-8 THC affect the developing brain. Using adolescent mouse models, her research gives students training in behavioral neuroscience and pharmacology. This is an ideal preparation for those pursuing graduate or pre-health careers with an interest in substance use, mental health, or adolescent development.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--white\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--white site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<figure  class=\"c-image c-image--rect\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" alt=\"MuirLab\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/MuirLab-1-820x600.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 1260px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/MuirLab-1-520x300.jpg 520w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/MuirLab-1-820x600.jpg 820w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/07\/MuirLab-1-1120x900.jpg 1120w\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-gary-muir-psychology\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Gary Muir \u2013 Psychology<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p><a style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stolaf.edu\/profile\/muir\">Dr. Muir<\/a>&#8216;s research explores how the brain encodes spatial orientation, focusing on the role of Head Direction cells in freely moving animals. His lab trains students in electrophysiology and behavioral neuroscience while tackling fundamental questions about navigation and memory. This is an excellent opportunity for students interested in systems neuroscience and neural computation.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--light\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--gray site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<figure  class=\"c-image c-image--rect\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" alt=\"Fly_on_treadmill_web2\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/Fly_on_treadmill_web2-4-820x600.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 1260px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/Fly_on_treadmill_web2-4-520x300.jpg 520w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/Fly_on_treadmill_web2-4-820x600.jpg 820w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/06\/Fly_on_treadmill_web2-4-1120x900.jpg 1120w\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-norman-lee-biology\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Norman Lee \u2013 Biology<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/leelab\/\">Dr. Lee\u2019<\/a>s lab investigates how animals hear, localize, and respond to sound, with a focus on the evolution and mechanisms of auditory systems. His research spans a range of species\u2014including parasitoid flies, crickets, frogs, and mosquitoes\u2014offering students the chance to study complex behaviors like phonotaxis, mate choice, and acoustic communication. Using techniques in neurophysiology, biomechanics, and behavioral analysis, students engage in hands-on projects that explore sensory processing and motor control in naturalistic settings. Supported by an NSF CAREER grant, Dr. Lee\u2019s lab provides immersive training in neuroethology and sensory ecology, from experimental design to data analysis and communicating of resesarch results.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--white\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--white site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-jeremy-loebach-psychology\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Jeremy Loebach \u2013 Psychology<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scoglab.org\/\">Dr. Loebach<\/a>\u2019s research explores how individuals perceive, learn, and adapt to sound, with particular emphasis on auditory development, speech perception, and the effects of auditory experience. His work investigates how people, especially those with hearing loss or cochlear implants, process and adapt to changes in their acoustic environment. Students in his lab gain experience in designing behavioral experiments, analyzing perceptual and cognitive data, and exploring real-world applications of auditory learning, language development, and communication across diverse populations.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\tclass=\"site-section site-panel__imagetext panel panel-imagetext site-section__bg--light\"\n\t\t\tdata-depth=\"\"\n\t\t\tdata-js-panel=\"imagetext\"\n\t\t>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"site-section__inner site-section__inner--no-padding\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"site-grid site-grid__no-gutters site-section__bg--gray site-panel__imgtxt-img-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<figure  class=\"c-image c-image--rect\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" alt=\"Petok\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/08\/Petok-820x600.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 1260px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/08\/Petok-520x300.jpg 520w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/08\/Petok-820x600.jpg 820w, \nhttps:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/files\/2025\/08\/Petok-1120x900.jpg 1120w\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"site-grid__col site-grid__col-safari-fix\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"site-panel__imgtxt-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"c-text\">\n\n\t<h2 class=\"site-section__title h3\" id=\"dr-jessica-petok-psychology\" data-name=\"title\" data-livetext data-depth=\"0\" data-index=\"0\">Dr. Jessica Petok \u2013 Psychology<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-text__desc t-content\" data-depth=\"0\" data-name=\"content\" data-autop=\"true\" data-livetext>\n\t\t\t<p data-start=\"3238\" data-end=\"3564\">Dr. Petok explores why some people\u2019s memory stays strong as they age, while others experience decline. \u00a0Her lab studies how cognition and brain structure differ between adults of different ages. Students learn to work with large data sets and neuropsychological tools, gaining insight into aging, memory, and the science of brain health.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2706,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_spp_custom_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1165","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2706"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1165"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1461,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1165\/revisions\/1461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}