By College Communications Staff
The University of Chicago is home to hundreds of the world’s most advanced laboratories and research facilities. The Inside the Lab series gives audiences a first-hand look at the University’s research laboratories and the scholars who are tackling some of the world’s most complex problems.
The work of the Sheffield Lab—where they use imaging techniques and virtual reality environment to measure the activity of neurons and their connections within the brain in an effort to understand how memories are created, stored and retrieved at the biological level—was recently featured in the series.
Stacia Konow, a fourth-year studying neuroscience, and John Ponce, a third-year double majoring in neuroscience and psychology, both work in the lab. Learn more about their experiences below.
How were you first connected to the lab?
Konow: I took Dr. Sheffield's cellular neurophysiology class in my second year, and I had a fantastic time in the class. I was really interested in his research, which he talked about a bit during the quarter. So just one day after class, I went up and started asking him questions about the lab, if he was looking for undergraduates to work in the lab… one thing led to another, and I was connected with a position that I’ve held ever since.
Ponce: I took cellular neurophysiology with Dr. Sheffield last year (Winter 2024), and was really intrigued by the work in his lab. Over this past summer as I was thinking of what I wanted to do for my thesis and looking back at the different classes that were interesting to me, this one kept coming to mind. So I reached out to Mark and set up a meeting to talk about the possibility of me joining the lab. Thankfully, it all worked out.