In the Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab in the College of Liberal Arts, researchers work to understand the effects of cocaine and opiate drug use on the human body, researching topics ranging from the roles of specific scaffolding proteins in drug relapses to examining how adolescent stress alters the brain’s response to cocaine. As the lab’s resident research technician, Lizzie Birmingham, a master of social work student, is responsible for ensuring the lab has everything it needs to function. In addition to organizing the lab’s scheduling, ordering supplies, and managing...

Working as an intern in the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Gao Ly Vang, a master of social work student at the College of Public Health, has special insight into her clients’ needs. Vang is an international student, born and raised in Canada, and she’s a child of Hmong refugees from Laos. Whether she is working on policy issues, assisting people without immigration status in communities across the city, or helping Philadelphia welcome migrants who have arrived by bus, Vang is able to combine her education and work skills with understanding that comes...

The American Occupational Therapy Foundation has awarded Joanne Oates, a second-year post-professional occupational therapy doctoral student, its 2022 STRIDE research grant. She is one of only three occupational therapy students and clinicians from across the country to be named a recipient of this prestigious award. The STRIDE grant, which stands for stands for Standing for Research Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity, offers $10,000 in research funds to graduate students and clinicians from underrepresented groups to improve their representation in the field of occupational ther...