Reply to comment

Hi, everyone. I'm Jess(ica) Varney, a sophomore biology major at Bryn Mawr. I'm on the cross-country and track teams, so you may have seen me running around campus. I've never taken a neuroscience course before, but I have taken a course with Professor Grobstein, his CSem in fall '07. I've also taken intro bio and both semesters of introductory philosophy, so I can contribute to discussion with those perspectives.

I've been curious about neuroscience since 1997, when my grandmother had a stroke and suffered single-infarct dementia. I am interested in exploring neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia, the behavioral aspects of exercise, and the idea of willpower or self-control. Finnish Olympian Paavo Nurmi has a great quote that kind of relates exercise, self-control, and behavior. He said, "Mind is everything. Muscle - pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind."

I can't wait to learn from you all this semester!