This past summer, 莱利陈年 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.
这位心理学、历史与哲学专业的学生在阅读了一篇科学论文后找到了自己梦寐以求的实习机会。
“I was reading a journal article on appetite, satiation and reward pathways in the brain for a class with [妮可]穆辛斯基博士 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.
她访问了脑肠轴研究实验室的网站，找到了一个在比利时的暑期实习职位，然后提出了申请。 一天后，她收到了实验室首席研究员的回复，邀请她加入这个团队。
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. 这是情绪和心理反应的两个重要方面。
在兰宁的实验室里，一天的工作包括为测试日准备材料，离心和移液生物样本，指导参与者进行核磁共振扫描，帮助测量测试日期间的压力/恐惧反应等等。
整个夏天，她经历了一种新的深刻的自我意识，无论是个人还是职业。
“就我个人而言，这次经历让我知道了我能处理多少事情。 我曾经一个人去过好几个国家，但是独自搬到一个地方，开始实习，在一个全新的城市和国家生活，这是不同的。 这也给了我继续追求梦想和目标的信心，尽管一开始我对接受这样一个有声望的实习感到紧张。”
在专业方面，兰宁说她在学习如何进行高水平研究方面拓展了自己的技能。 在一个尖端的实验室环境中，她发现自己有一天会变得多么有创造力，在做好研究的范围内，进一步的科学发现。
她说，她计划将这一千载难逢的经历转化为今年秋天她在十大彩票游戏平台（Hastings College）的毕业项目。
兰宁将此归功于十大彩票游戏平台的多位教师，他们在实习前为她做了准备，并在实习期间为她提供了支持。
She mentioned that Muszynski discussed the in-depth papers on the gut-brain axis with her, and 朱莉安娜·卡多索博士 prepared her for higher-level statistical analysis. 生物学 professor 蕾莎·莱德贝特博士 prepared her for the biological side of what she would be doing over the summer and was extremely encouraging of the internship opportunity. 理查德Loutzenheiser她帮助她处理了国际旅行的细节，比如签证和其他住宿。
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对学习和科学理解充满热情，并渴望与未来的大学生分享她的好奇心和热情。