NIFS: ABOUT THE COORDINATOR

 

Dr. Laura Symonds joined the Honors College in the fall of 2008 as the Coordinator of National and International Scholarships and Fellowships (NIFS), a position that allows her to pursue her strong interest in undergraduate/graduate education while she continues her neuroscience research.  As the NIFS coordinator she works to identify and advise students and their faculty mentors in their applications for prestigious scholarships and fellowships.   She has been a faculty member at MSU since 1997, is a member of the Neuroscience Program, and maintains appointments in the Departments of Radiology and Neurology where she runs a laboratory in neuroimaging.  Her research is in cognitive neuroscience, including topics such as how the perception of pain is altered during different cognitive or emotional states.  She previously held an appointment at the University of California, San Diego, and did postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University and Oxford University in England.  Her bachelor’s degree in psychology was earned at Vanderbilt University, and her Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology is from the University of Pennsylvania.