Lina's Story of Self
Hi there! My name is Lina Ghosh, and I am a junior in Cabot House (Semper Cor!) concentrating in Neuroscience with a secondary field in Educational Studies. I was born in Chandigarh, India and immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio at the age of 5 with my parents. I have always been very attached to my South Asian roots, and as a result, have found myself deeply involved in cultural communities for most of my life. I am a member of Harvard’s Hindu Students Association, Dharma, directed the South Asian Association’s annual cultural showcase, Ghungroo, and dance for Deepam, Harvard’s premier Indian classical dance team. South Asian culture is founded upon community-building and family networks, and I often search for these two qualities in everything I do.
One of the communities that I have had the pleasure of being a part of for the past two and a half years is the Sahay Lab. I joined the lab after an interview with my PI Dr. Amar Sahay as a first-year student. The scientists in the Sahay lab (or Sahayentists, as we fondly refer to ourselves) are investigating the biological processes of memory and learning from all different angles – behavioral assays, molecular biology, electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and much more. The lab is a microcosm of the broader world of neuroscience research, and I am constantly inspired by the unique approaches each lab member is taking to probe the same guiding question. Since my first year at college, I have begun carve my own niche and area of expertise in the molecular biology cohort of scientists in the lab. I study the proliferating and differentiating patterns of adult hippocampal neural stem cells and use various assays to identify molecular brakes or promoters on adult neurogenesis. Literature reviews and write-ups for my research for credit courses have allowed me to delve into the significance and implications of my work, and summer programs have allowed me to engage in an in-depth lab experience that is important for my own career development and decision making process.
