Catherine Stephens

Catherine Stephens was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. She received a B.Sc. in Biology and Neuroscience at Syracuse University in the United States. She became fascinated by neurodevelopment during her time as an undergraduate in Jessica MacDonald's lab, where she studied a transcription factor that contributes to neurodevelopmental disease such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Learning the importance of genetic and epigenetic factors as they influence brain development sparked her interest in understanding disease and developing novel therapeutics to improve abnormal phenotypes. Catherine chose Dr. Bowie's lab as her first rotation in the Integrated Program in Neuroscience because of its projects that work to elucidate the AMPA receptor's role in synaptic plasticity, and how this can be disrupted in neurodevelopmental disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors.