Honors Students Place First at Neurosports Conference

Farquhar Honors College students Zachary Lawrence and Shalet James won first place at the 4th Annual Neurosports Conference’s poster competition. Their research, titled “Sex differences in the physiological and cognitive-behavioral effects of high fat and ketogenic diets in mice,” indicates that a ketogenic, high-fat diet may improve adulthood cognition.

As aspiring physicians, Lawrence and James are interested in how diets and holistic approaches can improve the health and lifestyle of their future patients. They’re further investigating this relationship through an honors thesis, which Lawrence recently completed and defended.

“There is well-founded evidence that the ketogenic diet can be used to manage certain disorders such as epilepsy, but I want to explore how it may influence other disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Lawrence, a senior biology and behavioral neuroscience major.

They conducted this study under the guidance of their thesis adviser Lisa Robison, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the College of Psychology, whose lab focuses on how lifestyle affects brain health.

“Winning first place for this research makes me not only proud of myself but especially proud of the Robison Lab team,” said James, a senior behavioral neuroscience major. “Dr. Robison and our team deserve this recognition!“

Posted 04/09/23