Sacha McElligott
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At the age of 13, while in school in San Francisco, I stumbled upon the book "The Brain That Changes Itself" in my school library. After learning about Michael Merzenich's impressive work on cortical plasticity and cochlear implants, and learning that he was based out of San Francisco, I decided that I was going to work for him. After 2 years of persistence, I managed to secure an internship in Dr. Merzenich's company, Posit Science. There I learned about his attempts to remediate various neurological ailments, and worked with him for the remainder of my high school experience, culminating in my own project proposal to implement brain exercises in juvenile detention centers.
I started my research career at NYU during the start of my second year, by working in the lab of Lynne Kiorpes and Tony Movshon, where I learned the importance of reinforcing claims birthed from intuition with robust statistics. I then accepted a concurrent position in the lab of Thomas Wisniewski, after being put in touch by my Intro to Neural Science professor, Paul Glimcher. I have since worked in the Wisniewski Lab, in search of novel proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease, and my hard work has led to authorship on a publication (which is still in progress) and some very exciting results. In the second semester of my second year, I was contacted by Denis Pelli to help work on his model for equivalent input noise of the visual system, using anatomical data to infer noise at the physiological level, and using that to offer mechanistic descriptions of constraints at the psychophysical level.
At about the same time, I was accepted into BP-ENDURE, which allowed me to spend a summer in the lab of Catherine Collins at University of Michigan, where I studied and characterized the regenerative mechanisms of motoneurons in Drosophila melanogaster. During my time there, I also wrote a tracking software for researchers in the lab of John Kuwada; this software was able to track multiple moving larvae in a petri dish, calculate each exact distance, and state whether and when larvae hit the wall or ran into each other– I was excited to find that the software was much more effective and efficient than their previous process using ImageJ.
I spent this most recent summer working in the lab of Michael Paradiso at Brown University, wielding psychophysics, TMS, and computational tools to explore and understand how our brain preserves perceptual continuity despite constant, rapid changes in visual input. After graduating from NYU in January, I will work in the lab of Michael Häusser at University College London, investigating state changes in somatosensory cortex in mice, until I am accepted into a strong, neuroscience graduate program.
For a closer look at some of the work I've done, check out: sachaker@github.io
I started my research career at NYU during the start of my second year, by working in the lab of Lynne Kiorpes and Tony Movshon, where I learned the importance of reinforcing claims birthed from intuition with robust statistics. I then accepted a concurrent position in the lab of Thomas Wisniewski, after being put in touch by my Intro to Neural Science professor, Paul Glimcher. I have since worked in the Wisniewski Lab, in search of novel proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease, and my hard work has led to authorship on a publication (which is still in progress) and some very exciting results. In the second semester of my second year, I was contacted by Denis Pelli to help work on his model for equivalent input noise of the visual system, using anatomical data to infer noise at the physiological level, and using that to offer mechanistic descriptions of constraints at the psychophysical level.
At about the same time, I was accepted into BP-ENDURE, which allowed me to spend a summer in the lab of Catherine Collins at University of Michigan, where I studied and characterized the regenerative mechanisms of motoneurons in Drosophila melanogaster. During my time there, I also wrote a tracking software for researchers in the lab of John Kuwada; this software was able to track multiple moving larvae in a petri dish, calculate each exact distance, and state whether and when larvae hit the wall or ran into each other– I was excited to find that the software was much more effective and efficient than their previous process using ImageJ.
I spent this most recent summer working in the lab of Michael Paradiso at Brown University, wielding psychophysics, TMS, and computational tools to explore and understand how our brain preserves perceptual continuity despite constant, rapid changes in visual input. After graduating from NYU in January, I will work in the lab of Michael Häusser at University College London, investigating state changes in somatosensory cortex in mice, until I am accepted into a strong, neuroscience graduate program.
For a closer look at some of the work I've done, check out: sachaker@github.io
Presentation Summary:
––– Oral –––
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Inquiry Abstracts: Vol. XXII. Oral presentation delivered at the NYU 44th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, New York, NY. (May, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Adib, E.A., Collins C.A. “Characterizing Mechanisms of Debris Clearance and Changes in Global Protein Synthesis After Axonal Injury”. Oral presentation delivered at the University of Michigan BP-ENDURE Seminar, Ann Arbor, MI. (August, 2017)
––– Poster –––
• McElligott, S.K., Akers-Campbell, S., Paradiso, M.A. “The Role of Saccadic Eye Movements in Visual Perception” Poster presentation to be delivered at the Diversity Fellows Poster Session at Society For Neuroscience, San Diego, CA. (November, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Akers-Campbell, S., Paradiso, M.A. “The Role of Saccadic Eye Movements in Visual Perception” Poster presentation delivered at the Brown Summer Research Symposium, Providence, RI. (August, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Akers-Campbell, S., Paradiso, M.A. “The Role of Saccadic Eye Movements in Visual Perception” Poster presentation delivered at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium, Hartford, CT. (July, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the Columbia University Undergraduate Research Symposium, New York, NY. (April, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the NYU 2nd Annual CNS Undergraduate Research Festival, New York, NY. (April, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the Hunter College 5th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, New York, NY. (April, 2018)
• *McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Colocalization of Secernin-1 and Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation was to be delivered at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Edmond, OK. (April, 2018) (Accepted, *unable to attend)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Found in Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the NSF Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM, Washington D.C. (February, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Adib, E.A., Collins C.A. “Characterizing Mechanisms of Debris Clearance and Changes in Global Protein Synthesis After Axonal Injury”. Poster presentation delivered at the Diversity Fellows Poster Session at Society For Neuroscience, Washington D.C. (November, 2017)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Colocalization of Secernin-1 and Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the University of Rochester Undergraduate Research Day, Rochester, NY. (October, 2017)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Found in Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease”. Inquiry Abstracts: Vol. XXI. Poster presentation delivered at the NYU 43rd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, New York, NY. (May, 2017)
––– Oral –––
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Inquiry Abstracts: Vol. XXII. Oral presentation delivered at the NYU 44th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, New York, NY. (May, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Adib, E.A., Collins C.A. “Characterizing Mechanisms of Debris Clearance and Changes in Global Protein Synthesis After Axonal Injury”. Oral presentation delivered at the University of Michigan BP-ENDURE Seminar, Ann Arbor, MI. (August, 2017)
––– Poster –––
• McElligott, S.K., Akers-Campbell, S., Paradiso, M.A. “The Role of Saccadic Eye Movements in Visual Perception” Poster presentation to be delivered at the Diversity Fellows Poster Session at Society For Neuroscience, San Diego, CA. (November, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Akers-Campbell, S., Paradiso, M.A. “The Role of Saccadic Eye Movements in Visual Perception” Poster presentation delivered at the Brown Summer Research Symposium, Providence, RI. (August, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Akers-Campbell, S., Paradiso, M.A. “The Role of Saccadic Eye Movements in Visual Perception” Poster presentation delivered at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium, Hartford, CT. (July, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the Columbia University Undergraduate Research Symposium, New York, NY. (April, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the NYU 2nd Annual CNS Undergraduate Research Festival, New York, NY. (April, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the Hunter College 5th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, New York, NY. (April, 2018)
• *McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Colocalization of Secernin-1 and Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation was to be delivered at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Edmond, OK. (April, 2018) (Accepted, *unable to attend)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Found in Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the NSF Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM, Washington D.C. (February, 2018)
• McElligott, S.K., Adib, E.A., Collins C.A. “Characterizing Mechanisms of Debris Clearance and Changes in Global Protein Synthesis After Axonal Injury”. Poster presentation delivered at the Diversity Fellows Poster Session at Society For Neuroscience, Washington D.C. (November, 2017)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Colocalization of Secernin-1 and Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease”. Poster presentation delivered at the University of Rochester Undergraduate Research Day, Rochester, NY. (October, 2017)
• McElligott, S.K., Pires, G., Drummond, E.S., Wisniewski, T. “Secernin-1 is a Novel Protein Found in Pathological Hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease”. Inquiry Abstracts: Vol. XXI. Poster presentation delivered at the NYU 43rd Annual Undergraduate Research Conference, New York, NY. (May, 2017)