Spotlight on Elizabeth LeBlanc

Name: Elizabeth LeBlanc

Role: Research Assistant (Co-op Undergraduate Student)

Education: Northeastern University, B.S. Biology (May 2021)

Hometown: East Granby, Connecticut

1. What are you looking forward to working on in the lab?

I am interested in epigenetics, behavioral neuroscience, developmental psychology, and mental health and am excited to work on multiple projects in the lab that touch these topics. I am specifically looking forward to learning more about the way adversity can affect how certain genes are expressed and to further understanding the potential of a tooth to be a biomarker for childhood adversity. I also am excited to attend lab meetings, Grand Rounds, and other seminars!

2. What are the three big questions you are interested in answering?

a.     Why do traumatic early life experiences put children at greater risk to develop depression and anxiety?

b.     How do experiences of stress physically trigger biological changes and affect mental health at the molecular and genetic level? Furthermore, can we pass this on to future generations?

c.     Why have treatments of mental disorders increased but prevalence has not yet decreased in the population? What can health care be doing better?

3. Of your most recent accomplishments, which one are you most proud of?

Over the course of this past academic semester, I had raised over 1,500 dollars for a program called DREAM. DREAM’s mission is to close the opportunity gap for children across cities in the northeast, including Roxbury. They do this by providing a mentorship program with local college students. Northeastern University is actively gentrifying this area of Roxbury and, as a Northeastern student, I feel the need to leave a positive impact on this community.

My DREAM mentee is Ashely-- she is 5 years old. Every Saturday, Ashley, her older sisters, their mentors, and I get to hang out! With the money we continue to raise, we are able to go to farmer’s markets, the science museum, the aquarium, the beach, ice skating, and so much more. These may not seem like big accomplishments, but these are all things the children would not otherwise have the opportunity to do or experience. On the science side of things, we know that having positive experiences and building trusting, long-lasting relationships can positively affect children’s mental health, academic performance, and self-esteem. I truly enjoy seeing Ashley grow up and I feel most accomplished when I am giving back to the community of Roxbury.

4. What are you reading right now?

It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn. It is about how inherited family trauma shapes who we are and how to end the cycle. I just started this book and it is really good so far!

5. Which superpower would you like to have?

Teleportation. If I never had to take the orange line or go through airport security again, I wouldn’t be mad about it.