Aravind Viswanathan

When I came to Penn, I knew I wanted to get involved in research, but I had no idea how I was going to do it. In the summer before my sophomore year, I had the opportunity to join the Song & Ming lab and conduct research on neural stem cell proliferation in the hippocampus region of mice. Since then, I’ve pivoted to working under Dr. Mariko Bennett and study the mechanisms behind the anti-viral capabilities of microglia. I’ve loved my past year and a half at the Song & Ming Lab and am super excited to continue working there for the upcoming school year!

While finding research positions was definitely a daunting task as a freshman, I couldn’t be happier with how educational and rewarding research has been so far. If you have any questions about getting started with research, reaching out to labs, or are interested in neuroscience, feel free to reach out!