UROP Leader Information Submission: Submission #165 | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Submission information

Submission Number: 165

Submission ID: 13656

Submission UUID: e4d62966-888d-4f39-9df1-a3a03c15bef3

Submission URI: /urop-leader-information-submission

Submission Update: /urop-leader-information-submission?token=YbGqCz9OEE94F4y5MsRFlEavd_mQz6J7dlfViwBP8QI

Created: Sun, 04/21/2024 - 12:14 AM

Completed: Sun, 04/21/2024 - 03:18 PM

Changed: Thu, 05/23/2024 - 09:56 AM

Remote IP address: 50.30.177.26

Submitted by: Anonymous

Language: English

Is draft: No

Webform: UROP Leaders Information

Submitted to: UROP Leader Information Submission

First Name Skylar

Last Name Ruffner

Full name as you would like it to appear on the website Skylar Ruffner

Preferred Pronouns she/her/hers

Hometown, State, and Country (ex: Tallahassee, FL, USA) San Clemente, CA

FSU email smr21e@fsu.edu

Please check this box if you are willing to be contacted by students interested in UROP No

LinkedIn URL (optional) {Empty}

Major(s) Behavioral Neuroscience

Minor(s) Chemistry

Graduation Semester and Year (ex: Fall, 2022) Spring 2025

What is your current research focus? I have been a part of the Hammock lab, a social and developmental neuroscience research lab, from Summer 2022 - current. We focus on the role of oxytocin in relation to postnatal brain and behavior development via an animal model. I completed my Honors in the Major Thesis project under Dr. Elizabeth Hammock and Alicia Gonzalez. My project focused on the evaluation of oxytocin and touch on neonatal thalamus c-Fos activity in mice. I investigated the role of oxytocin as a modulator of experience-dependent development through social touch circuitry. I plan to continue pursuing research under Dr. Hammock while at FSU. In the future, I hope to study the effects of early life stress on microglia activity and postnatal neural circuitry development.

Are there any other research related activities you participate(d) in? I volunteer within Dr. Lisa Eckel’s Neuroscience Lab, where I perform animal maintenance and care and attend regular lab meetings. The research project I am currently involved in focuses on the role of estrogens on attenuating weight gain in female rats. This lab has provided me with a well-rounded foundation for the experimental process, from both a behavior and brain perspective.

Answer one of the following two questions about being a UROP Leader or your UROP background. How do you hope to impact your students as a UROP Leader?

Please answer the question you selected above in the area provided. I hope to impact my students as a UROP Leader by conveying the benefits of becoming immersed within research, and by teaching students how to properly get involved without feeling overwhelmed. I want to help guide other undergraduate students in the journey of discovering their research interests, and learning how to navigate the process of searching for and contacting research professors. I want to instill my passion and appreciation for research in other undergraduate students, and convey to them that their research skills will help guide them in all areas of life.

Please list any other hobbies or interests you would like to share Beyond the classroom while at FSU, I was a part of the FSU Women’s Swimming and Diving team (August 2021 - August 2023), in which I competed as a 10-meter platform diver. Additionally, I'm a part of the pre-medical chapter of Phi Delta Epsilon at FSU (FL Zeta), participating in numerous fundraising and volunteering events. In my free time, I love to run, do yoga, and bake, with my specialty being cheesecake. I am currently training for a triathlon, and plan to run in the next Tallahassee Half-Marathon!

Headshot

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2025Year2025 2024

Approved Yes

Update URL UROP Leaders https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-leader-information-submission?element_parents=elements/headshot&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=YbGqCz9OEE94F4y5MsRFlEavd_mQz6J7dlfViwBP8QI

Years as a UROP Leader 2024-2025