This past summer, Riley Lanning embraced the challenge to expand her laboratory research skills and knowledge in biology and psychology in a lab in Leuven, Belgium, after a course at Hastings College piqued her interest in the gut brain axis relationship.
The psychology and history and philosophy major found the internship of her dreams after reading a scientific article for class.
“I was reading a journal article on appetite, satiation and reward pathways in the brain for a class with Dr. [Nicole] Muszynski when I started looking through author names on the paper and became interested in a lab doing gut-brain axis research at KU Leuven University in Belgium,” she said.
She visited the Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Research website, found out about a summer internship position in Belgium, and then applied. A day later she received a response from the lab’s principal investigator inviting her to join the team.
Lanning’s main focus while in Leuven was aiding in a multi-year-long research study on “Mood Bugs,” which involves studying how bacteria living in the gut affect sensitivity to stress and fear response. These are two important aspects of emotional and mental responses.
A day in the lab for Lanning entailed preparing materials for testing days, centrifuging and pipetting biological samples, guiding participants through MRI scans, helping to measure stress/fear responses during the test days and more.
Throughout the summer, she experienced a new profound sense of self, both personally and professionally.
“Personally, this experience has taught me about how much I can handle. I have traveled to several countries by myself before, but it is different to move somewhere, start an internship and live in a brand new city and country all alone. It has also given me the confidence to continue pursuing my dreams and goals, even though I was initially nervous about taking on such a prestigious internship,” she said.
Professionally, Lanning said she expanded her skills in learning how to do high-level research. Being in a cutting-edge lab environment showed her how creative she will get to be someday, within the confines of doing good research, to further scientific discovery.
She said planned to take the once-in-a-lifetime experience and translate it back into her senior capstone project at Hastings College this fall.
Lanning credits multiple faculty at Hastings College who prepared her before and supported her during the internship.
She mentioned that Muszynski discussed the in-depth papers on the gut-brain axis with her, and Dr. Juliana Cardoso prepared her for higher-level statistical analysis. Biology professor Dr. Rhesa Ledbetter prepared her for the biological side of what she would be doing over the summer and was extremely encouraging of the internship opportunity. Richard Loutzenheiser, who is on the College’s Board of Trustees, helped her with international travel specifics, such as her visa and other accommodations.
For her senior capstone project, she said she planned to take her research experience and study how different kinds of breakfasts influence people’s food cravings and physical reactions to seeing or thinking about food, which will help her learn more about the connection between the gut and the brain.
Her ultimate goal after graduation is to complete a master’s and PhD, either in the U.S. or abroad, and eventually work as a researcher and professor.
Lanning is deeply passionate about learning and furthering scientific understanding, and eagerly anticipates sharing her curiosity and enthusiasm with future college students.
