Dominique Cunningham

Dominique Cunningham will be spending her summer 2023 break in a lab at the University of Washington in Seattle as part of a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU).

The Buford, Georgia, resident is pursuing a degree in biology with an expected graduation date of December 2024. She plans to become a neuroscience researcher. Cunningham is confident her REU experience is an important step in that direction.

"A large part of what I'll be doing is inducing neural plasticity within rodents to see if we can make the brain more 'plastic.' We want to see if the brain can have better recovery following things such as a stroke and then see if those things can be taken from rodents and be applied to humans," Cunningham said.

She likened her work at the Center of Neurotechnology to the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"As we get older, our brains become more set in the functions that they have, which is why it's really easy for kids to learn new languages and new skills," she explained. "If we can make the brain more flexible, more able to learn and grow and develop as someone ages, the results could lessen the effects of strokes, making them 'not as irreversible.'"

Cunningham has incorporated her passion for science into her work in Boot Camp, an opportunity to have additional academic support from another student. Boot Camp allows students to gain assistance from their fellow students who serve as Boot Camp coaches in subject matter — biology in Cunningham's case — and study skills and even work in labs.

The experience has honed her academic and leadership skills.

"Adapting to other people has been difficult. I'm a tutor, so I can teach someone how to think one way. But if that's not compatible with them, I think, 'How can I help them understand this concept?'" she said. "I learned to be patient with them, and with myself. We're individuals with a completely different background trying to reach common ground. I listen to the other person, trying to see where we're not meeting eye to eye and develop ways that we can fix that."

Leadership, Cunningham believes, is achieved through demonstration.

"You should never have to walk into a room and proclaim that you're a leader. You should always be demonstrating that through your actions," she said. "Leadership is doing what you think is best and inspiring people to genuinely want to follow because of how you are doing things. I think the epitome of leadership is people wanting to follow you because of what you do."

Cunningham is surprised at how much she has learned in her leadership roles.

"A lot of people have commented on how great they think it is that I'm a tutor. What they don't realize is how much the students I tutor do for me," she said. "Students will say that they were confused about a concept, and I hadn't realized that that could be confusing. I'll share mnemonic devices that may help, and they'll share theirs, which I can take into my own courses."

She credits Dr. Neal Lin, a lecturer in biology, with inspiring her to become more active as a leader long before she was his student.

"He's become a mentor of mine and he's been a leader in my eyes from the very beginning," Cunningham said.