Grace Grandel, Davenport College 2027
Wired for Discovery: A Neuroscientist in the Making
WRITTEN By Leilani Eth
EDITED BY KELLY WU
For Grace Grandel, a sophomore neuroscience major in Davenport College, research isn’t just a career option, it’s a calling. While many students deliberate between medicine, industry, or academia, Grace found her direction early. “Med school was never even on the table,” she quips. From her first days at Yale, her focus has been clear: a future in research. Perhaps it’s in her DNA—she comes from a family of researchers, which set the stage for her curiosity-driven path.
Grace’s fascination with neuroscience stems from its complexity and innovation, particularly in understanding memory. During her first year, she dedicated her winter break to scouring Yale’s faculty web pages, searching for labs to conduct research that aligned with her interests. While cold-emailing labs felt nerve-wracking, she quickly discovered how welcoming Yale’s research community could be. One of those emails connected her to Professor Nick Turk-Browne’s lab by the spring semester, and she was awarded the Yale College First-Year Summer Research Fellowship in the Sciences & Engineering to continue working there over the summer. Grace is still part of the lab—and to top it off, she now gets paid to do research she genuinely loves. After all, what's better than getting paid to have fun with science?
In the Turk-Browne lab, Grace delves into the intricacies of memory differentiation, focusing on drug-resistant epilepsy patients. Her research involves analyzing brain activity recorded by neural implants during memory tests to uncover how these individuals process old versus new information. A key skill she had to master for this work was programming, a task that initially felt daunting. “It’s not as scary as it looks,” Grace reflects, crediting the lab’s collaborative atmosphere and her graduate mentor’s patient guidance for making all the difference. With their support, she quickly built confidence in her ability to handle coding challenges, which has become critical to her research success.
The supportive culture of the Turk-Browne lab has been instrumental in shaping Grace’s research experience. Weekly lab meetings offer a chance to troubleshoot issues, share progress, and connect with her peers. Graduate students in the lab maintain a high standard of rigor but are always ready to lend support. And, of course, no lab meeting would be complete without donuts or a visit from the “lab dog,” lighthearted elements that reflect the lab’s unique balance of hard work and camaraderie.
Although Grace originally set her sights on developmental fMRI research, her current work with adult memory systems has proven just as rewarding. Her summer research further solidified her love for neuroscience, demonstrating that the joys of discovery far outweigh the inevitable challenges. Grace’s time in the lab has broadened her technical skills and deepened her passion for exploring the unknown.
When asked what advice she would offer first-year students, Grace underscored the importance of taking initiative and embracing the learning curve. “Cold-emailing can be scary, but professors want to help,” she says. Reflecting on her journey, she adds, “I wish I’d known sooner how accessible these opportunities are because no experience is required to get started.”
Looking ahead, Grace remains resolute in her aspiration to build a career in research, whether in teaching in academia or research. Her work in the Turk-Browne lab has cemented her belief in the importance of collaboration and persistence, traits that will undoubtedly carry her far in the world of neuroscience. For Grace, Yale’s research community isn’t just a stepping stone, it’s a launchpad for a lifetime of discovery.
