By Sarah Plummer
The start of the 2022 fall semester saw the launch of a new major at Samford. On Sept. 22, students and faculty alike gathered in the Christenberry Planetarium to commence the new neuroscience major with an informational meeting.
As a collaboration between the Departments of Biology and Psychology, the interdisciplinary major will cover a wide field with a course load spanning from genetics to cognitive psychology.
“At Samford, we have collegial working relationships among the faculty in the Howard College of Arts and Sciences and across campus that will allow us to collaborate on novel explorations,” said Dr. Elizabeth Dobbins, a Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
Dobbins expressed the endless possibilities of neuroscience to unify numerous fields of study.
“Within the field of neuroscience, biology, psychology, physics, pharmacology, and biochemistry converge at the exploration of perception, behavior, and the regulation of neurotransmission,” Dobbins said.
According to Dobbins, the neuroscience degree encourages students to develop curiosity and empathy as they delve into the study of the human mind.
“The realization that we have a unique experience of the world helps develop curiosity about each other, which is the first step toward empathy and understanding,” Dobbins said.
Julia Spruiell, a senior neuroscience major, expressed her love for the multifaceted nature of neuroscience.
“I love that the new major combines both the psychology and biology departments because it’s important to learn both the how and the why behind behaviors and mechanisms of the brain,” said Spruiell.
As an address to her fellow students, Spruiell said that she would encourage anyone to take a neuroscience class, because “as daunting as it may seem, it is really cool and interesting, and you may find it’s your passion.”
