Purdue brain and behavioral sciences major proves foundational to alumna’s career in chiropractic care
Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu
Alumna Liron Saletsky (right) has a passion for providing chiropractic care to babies and young children. Photo provided
People often associate trips to the chiropractor with back pain, but chiropractic care goes well beyond the spine, according to 2018 Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) alumna Liron Saletsky.
A chiropractor at Revolution Chiropractic in Jacksonville, Florida, Saletsky focuses on making the body more adaptable and optimizing its ability to heal through chiropractic adjustments, which involve working with the body’s nervous system. Having majored in brain and behavioral sciences in the Department of Psychological Sciences, Saletsky credits her knowledge of how the brain works as being foundational in chiropractic school at the National University of Health Sciences and beyond in her chiropractic career.
“We live in a world of so much stress that the stress impedes on our ability to grow and our ability to reach milestones as optimally as possible, and honestly, it impedes on our ability to heal the way that we need to,” Saletsky said. “Our goal as chiropractors is to find areas in the body to remove the stress to help the body become more adaptable and resilient to the stress so it can do the healing on its own.”
While Saletsky works with patients of all ages to help them achieve optimal health and well-being, she has a particular passion for working with babies and young children. She is currently pursuing additional specialization training from the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.
“I haven’t had a day since I’ve started where I haven’t wanted to go to work because we see so many families, kids, babies and adults that are so touched and their lives are so shaped because they decided to make a lifestyle change and get chiropractic care,” Saletsky said.
During her time at Purdue, Saletsky said she was often met with surprise from her peers that she was taking courses on neuroscience, learning and memory, and brain development with the goal of being a chiropractor. However, Saletsky noted it was these classes that proved extremely valuable in chiropractic school and her career because it helped her understand the brain’s role in holistic health.
“The brain is such a complex system that does so much for us that we don’t even recognize,” Saletsky said. “We take it for granted in every moment. When I was in these neuroscience classes, I was learning what could go wrong in the brain, and through that, through history, we’ve looked at lesions in the brain in order to recognize what the brain is capable of doing. Learning that power of the brain, learning how the brain influences the body and our growth and development was a huge fuel to what I do now in working with kids and empowering families.”
The flexibility within her major to explore her interests is something that Saletsky valued during her time as a student and something that helped her make her decision to come to Purdue — in addition to the opportunities she would have through the Purdue Honors College and Purdue Musical Organizations.
“I really loved the fact that brain and behavioral sciences was a major, and you kind of almost got to customize it in a way,” Saletsky said. “You had to complete a certain amount of neuroscience classes or psychology classes, but I got to pick which ones I wanted to take, and so I very much found my passion through a bunch of different specializations, and I met really interesting professors who guided me through that too.”
Saletsky was very involved during her time at Purdue, from singing with the Purduettes to advocating for the University as an admissions ambassador. Saletsky also participated in undergraduate research in Professor Emeritus Richard Schweickert’s lab, focusing more on the computational, data-driven side of psychology, which helped her build valuable research skills and broadened her thinking.
“I became a way better critical thinker, and so I think that shaped me as a medical professional because I’m very research- and science-focused,” Saletsky said.
Saletsky noted that the mentorship and education she received at Purdue has had a long-lasting influence in her career, and she remains passionate about the University to this day.
“In psychological sciences and brain and behavior sciences, you’re learning about the human mind and the human body, and its potential is unbelievable,” Saletsky said. “We have the power to shape so many lives.”