Sally Feng worked in Alison Bell’s lab as an undergraduate research assistant and completed her own independent senior research project, eventually graduating with High Distinction in IB. Sally studied how maternal stress influences the ability of offspring to learn and to use social cues, in threespined sticklebacks, a small fish. Sally recently published her findings in the journal Animal Behavior ( link to original article ) and her article was selected by the Editor to highlight in the Sept 2015 issue ( link to editor’s article ).

About her experience doing research as an undergrad, Sally says, “Three years ago, research was a foreign concept to me and it turned out to be one of my greatest accomplishments during my time as an undergraduate at U of I. Research encourages me to explore my interests and challenges me mentally. I love hands-on learning and it is exciting to discover something new even if it's only new to me. Throughout the years I gained independence but not without the help of my mentors who guided me in my research projects. It is essential to be interested in your topic and to have a good relationship with your lab mentor(s) (advantageous when requesting for letters of recommendation). While research is not for everyone, you will not know until you try and you will definitely learn from the experience.”