On Oct. 7, Baldwin Wallace University hosted the 15th annual Midwest and Great Lakes Undergraduate Research in Neuroscience Symposium in the Austin E. Knowlton Center and Center for Innovation and Growth.  

The symposium brought together opportunities for students to professionally engage in the field of neuroscience by bringing together opportunities to speak with representatives from graduate schools, a keynote speaker and a chance for students to present some of their summer research. 

Claire Mathes, Chair of the Department of Neuroscience, was tasked with planning the symposium and said that said that participating in events like these can be the highlight of a student’s educational career. With BW hosting the event, Mathes said that this allowed for more BW students to reap these educational and professional benefits.  

“We have stuff to show off here and we want to give back to this community,” Mathes said.  

Hosting the symposium is a two-year commitment. Last year the department faced a struggle to gain sponsorship for the event. This year, because of increased support for the BW neuroscience students, attending the event was free of charge. Sydney Klingshirn, junior neuroscience student, said that this allowed a wider range of students to attend.  

“For students who can not afford to go to conferences it’s really nice to have it paid for and the financial aspect isn’t holding anyone back,” Klingshirn said.  

The neuroscience department is using their two years of hosting this event to gather data on the impact that attending a conference has on students. Mathes said they have found that attending a conference like this is particularly beneficial to underclassmen students.  

“We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores from BW going to this conference and I hope this helps them thrive even more in neuroscience,” Mathes said.  

They will be presenting their findings at the Society for Neuroscience conference, which will take place between Nov. 11 and 15.