Katie ’09 presented the results of her Honors Research project at the International Conference on Comparative Cognition on March 21.

Along with her research mentor and the graduate students she works with, she traveled to Melbourne, Florida for the  conference.

Katie’s research looks at the hidden event cognition and object permanence in rats.

Though she is only a high school senior, Katie has the status of a graduate student, with undergraduates working under her.

She said she was nervous to present her results in such a prestigious environment.

“It’s intimidating going to the conference, but I’ve put a lot of time researching so I have that confidence,” Katie said.

At some point, Katie will be publishing a paper in conjunction with her mentor, Dr. Aaron Blaisdell.

“I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to run my own study,” Katie said. “I hoped for this, but I never expected to do it.”

Katie’s work is part of the Leonetti/O’Connell Family Honors Research in Science Program.