Nicoletta Memos of Syosset Conducting Animal Behavior Research at Southwestern University this Summer

GEORGETOWN, TX (07/15/2013)(readMedia)-- Nicoletta Memos of Syosset is one of 31 students conducting research at Southwestern University this summer as part of a new student-faculty collaborative research program called SCOPE.

The SCOPE program is part of the HHMI-Southwestern Inquiry Initiative, which is funded by a $1.3 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Students participating in the eight-week program get their housing paid for as well as a stipend.

Memos and psychology professor Fay Guarraci are investigating the effects of birth control on sexual behavior in female rats as well as how other drugs such as cocaine affect sexual behavior in female rats. All their research projects have potential applications to humans.

Memos is an animal behavior major at Southwestern and will be a teaching assistant for Guarraci's Research Methods class in the fall.

Southwestern University is a selective, nationally recognized undergraduate liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,400 students. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in Texas. For more information on Southwestern, visit www.southwestern.edu.