UROP Leader Information Submission: Submission #165

serial: '165'
sid: '13656'
uuid: e4d62966-888d-4f39-9df1-a3a03c15bef3
uri: /urop-leader-information-submission
created: '1713672844'
completed: '1713727088'
changed: '1716472588'
in_draft: '0'
current_page: ''
remote_addr: 50.30.177.26
uid: '0'
langcode: en
webform_id: urop_leaders_information
entity_type: node
entity_id: '1086'
locked: '0'
sticky: '0'
notes: ''
data:
  answer_one_of_the_following_two_questions_about_being_a_urop_lea: affect_students
  approved: '1'
  are_there_any_other_research_oriented_clubs_you_participate_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. '
  email_availability: '0'
  first_name: Skylar
  fsu_email: smr21e@fsu.edu
  graduation_year: 'Spring 2025'
  headshot: '43271'
  hometown: 'San Clemente, CA'
  last_name: Ruffner
  linkedin_url: ''
  major_s_: 'Behavioral Neuroscience'
  minor_s_: Chemistry
  name_for_the_website: 'Skylar Ruffner'
  please_list_any_of_your_hobbies_or_interests_: |
    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!
  preferred_pronouns: she/her/hers
  selected_response: '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. '
  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'
  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.'
  year: '2024'
  years_as_a_urop_leader: 2024-2025