Eryn Sale

2020 Fulbright Scholar

Hometown

Lafayette, IN

Major

Neurobiology and Physiology, Genetics

College

College of Science

 

Eryn Sale will be pursuing research to identify brain cell types on Fulbright at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim, Norway. As Sale says, “There are numerous types of cells in the brain, but there is not a consensus on how many exist.” Sale plans to use research techniques from both biophysics and genetics to work towards an answer. Identifying unique brain cell types from different regions of the brain could increase scientists’ understanding of how psychiatric diseases target the brain, as well as allow for more specific treatment with fewer side effects.

 

Growing up, Sale witnessed the personal and social impacts of having a family member with a psychiatric disorder. Experiences with that stigma led her to focus not only on scientific research related to the brain but also motivated her to address public education on science and mental health. Sale co-founded Purdue Impact Theory (PIT), which is “focused on connecting scientists to the general public, especially high school students.” In addition to PIT, Sale has also worked to educate local high schools on mental health through the National Alliance of Mental Illness and has worked to relieve misconceptions and artificial divisions between Deaf and hearing communities through the Purdue American Sign Language Club.

 

Sale will be continuing her education efforts in Norway, where she will use video platforms and blogs to communicate the Kavli Institute’s work with the general public. In Norway, where public integration of disability is more strongly supported by policy and funding, Sale hopes to gain insight into potential changes that could be made toward public policies around disability in the United States. Sale sees public education about mental health and about science as inherently linked, saying “Having a deeper understanding of research in neurobiological disorders facilitates trust in scientists and dispels misconceptions around disorders.”