Malak (she/her) is a junior majoring in Physiology and Neurobiology and minoring in Mathematics. On campus, she is involved in the Physiology and Neurobiology society, the Undergraduate Science Journal, French club, North African Student Association, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and is a mentor for Woman in STEM. She also is a Residential Assistant for Alumni and a SPIN Instructor at the REC.
During the summer of 2023, Malak worked as a biomedical research intern for the General Electric Healthcare Group at Casablanca, Morocco under the neuroscience and oncology divisions. She mostly worked with Dr. Sbai, specialized in MRI and neurological instruments, to understand the application of advanced imaging technologies in neurological diagnostics and treatment planning. Starting Fall 2023, Malak became an undergraduate research assistant at the Psychology department, working with Dr. Eigsti on addressing how to map complex behavioral constructs, such as social communication processes in autism, onto mechanistic processes in the brain.
These opportunities inspired her to explore other research laboratories in the field of PNB, after which she decided to join Dr. Sciolino’s research on behavioral neuroscience in Spring 2024 and worked over the summer to continue her investigations. Her project encompasses understanding how the effects of central norepinephrine systems regulate motivated behaviors, with the goal of uncovering the neuromodulatory basis of neuropsychiatric and metabolic disorders.
Malak is extremely passionate about research, as she plans to pursue a PhD in behavioral neuroscience after college. She believes research is a great opportunity to take advantage of in college. She is looking forward to helping destroy the stigma that undergraduate research is unattainable and fighting stereotypes related to undergraduate research, all while helping students first and foremost.