LU senior leaving her legacy in the lab, on the court
As a first-generation college student, 51ĀŅĀ× senior Livy Heling appreciates the opportunity to study her passion ā neuroscience ā at the college level.
This past summer, the biology major fed that passion with a unique experience thatās complementing what sheās learning in the labs of Lakelandās Chase Science Center.
Heling, of West Bend, Wis., spent the summer in the University of Madisonās Cellular and Molecular Biology of Stress Summer Research Program. The 10-week program only accepts 15-30 students yearly from a pool of approximately 350 applicants.
Working under the tutelage of Meyer Jackson, Ph.D., The Kenneth S Cole Professor of Neuroscience at UW-Madison, Heling spent much of her summer studying the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning, of mice.
Heling and UW graduate student Sumedha Sengupta removed and dissected the brains of mice before delivering electrical pulses to the hippocampus with an electrode. They used paired pulses to study plasticity in hippocampal neurons, which they believe are necessary for successful memory formation
āBecause of my previous research experience (at Lakeland), this was kind of a continuation of that because both were neuro related,ā said Heling, referring to the research she did the summer after her freshman year through the Lakeland Undergraduate Research Experience.
āIt was cool to go to a large school where they get a ton of funding dedicated to research. I had never lived in a city before, so that was also a cool experience to be in Madison and have time to explore.ā
While one of Wisconsinās largest cities suited her summer, the friendly confines of Lakelandās campus has more than benefited Helingās Lakeland experience.
An accomplished tennis player at West Bend East High School, Heling recalls touring Lakeland as part of a recruiting visit. She later interviewed for and received the 2022 LU Science, Technology & Education full tuition scholarship, sealing her future as a Muskie.
āGetting that scholarship was huge,ā Heling said. āEven before that, Lakeland was my top choice. I was hoping that would work out here.ā
On the court, Heling is a three-time Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Scholar-Athlete Award winner, was named 2022 NACC Freshman of the Year, the first Muskie to receive the conferenceās top freshman award, and All-NACC in 2023.
One of her biggest honors came last fall when she was one of just five fall sports athletes selected by the conference as an inaugural recipient of the NACC Faculty Athletics Representatives Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements and commitment in academic performance, contribution to athletics and service to the campus community.
Only 10 individuals are recognized each academic year from among the thousands of NACC student-athletes in the 14-school conference.
Heling is co-president of Lakelandās Biology Club and a member of the Math Club. She has volunteered preparing crafts and activities for children's programs at her local library and as a youth tennis coach, eventually working as an assistant coach where she provided one-on-one coaching.
Last winter, Heling worked as a resident assistant at Cedar Community in West Bend helping residents with a variety of personal needs. She found the work rewarding, but it reinforced her love for lab settings and research.
This fall, Heling plans to apply for doctoral programs and she hopes to continue neuroscience research. She appreciates her Lakeland experience, from the opportunity to learn in LU labs to the close connection to science faculty members like her advisor, Associate Professor of Biology Andrew Karls, Ph.D.
āFor my interview, he helped me with the questions I might get asked and what I should ask which was really helpful,ā Heling said. āI feel like I get a lot of support here. Being in the LURE program gave me research experience where I learned some techniques that others might not have.
āI hope to continue to do neuroscience research and maybe be a professor. Iām really interested in memory formation. Thereās something special about neuroscience that made me interested in that over other sub areas. I think I am curious about things, really anything.ā
