Renée Hartig, PhD Student
Hometown: Long Island, New York, USA
Affiliation: CIN; Functional and Comparative Neuroanatomy Lab
What are you working on?
We are interested
in localizing taste processing in the primate brain. Current
literature of the primate, human and non-human, taste area does not
exactly coincide. Thus, we aim to resolve the discrepancy of
classical taste literature by using a combination of functional and
anatomical methods.
How are you going to find out?
Localizing this sensory processing will be accomplished by
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), psychophysical
evaluation of taste stimuli and anatomical connectivity
analyses.
What inspires you?
There are so many things from which I gain inspiration. Most
recently, I've found people overcoming life struggles in such a way
where they maintain a positive attitude throughout inspiring. These
people have strong characters. These are not the people you hear
complaining about their lives but rather savouring all the moments
in life. This is something we should all be doing - treating life
as a blessing. In this respect, no matter how hard things become,
the fact that you still have life means you can never feel down
about how things are going.
What do you enjoy in Tuebingen?
Tuebingen is better than I thought it would be. Simply judging from
Wikipedia, the town is gorgeous and rich in German history.
However, once you get here you realize that for a small, medieval
town, Tuebingen is so much more. Everyone is well-educated,
affording many intellectual conversations as well as an opportunity
to meet people from all over the world. So, if you ask me what I
enjoy in Tuebingen - it is definitely the atmosphere and its
life.
