My name is Emma Halter and I am a neuroscientist, marine biologist, photographer, scuba diver, triathlete, animal lover and more! I have always been awed by the connection and amount of information that can be passed between species despite our differences. Many species have shown the evidence they can communicate with creatures outside of their own species such as recognizing alarm calls, or even appear to be able to acknowledge and interpret emotions, as humans experience with our pets. The connections I experienced between myself and my pets as a child led me to ask questions I realized the world did not yet have answers to. I seek answers now by researching animal and human behavior and learning more about cognition and the brain. This has led me to explore many areas of animal behavior and cognitive research. 

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I received my Bachelors degree in Neuroscience & Behavior from Wesleyan University in 2017, where my capstone research focused on taste perception and obesity in rats exposed to junk-food. There I learned the hard work, patience, and organization needed to work with animals in a laboratory setting. Our quality of work is their quality of care; it must be of the highest standard. During undergrad I spent a semester abroad in the Turks & Caicos scuba diving and learning to multitask underwater completing coral and fish surveys; the same rigorous standards as lab work, but more flexibility was needed. I learned that field science, like lab science, requires hard work and patience but offered opportunities to answer different questions than laboratory work could. I spent the summer of 2016 at the New England Aquarium as a Giant Ocean Tank Intern, diving in a 200,000 gallon tank full of sharks, fish, and turtles. My job was to care for the animals with the same high standards and compassion as I had for my lab rats, while educating the public on why these animals and their ocean world matter. Like field and lab science, the aquarium provided another opportunity for scientists to ask and answer questions. It provided an ecosystem that was somewhere between the highly controlled lab setting and the highly uncontrolled open ocean. It also served to inspire the public and future scientists in a way that scientific lab publications and remote field work labs rarely can. All of these scientific settings are important for us to move our knowledge of the world forward.

 

My undergraduate experiences helped me explore the ways I could help answer questions about our world, our brains, and behavior. I decided to continue to persue research and at the end of 2018, I defending my thesis and earned my Master of Science in Marine Biology thanks to Northeastern's field work based Three Seas Program. My thesis work focused on the visual cognition of beluga whales, and was published in Animal Cognition in the fall of 2022. I realized I was never unhappy underwater and quickly pursued higher scuba certifications. By February 2019 I earned my PADI Divemaster certification and officially entered the professional level. However, as much as I love experiencing the ocean and its wonders, I yearn to ask questions and pursue answers and new knowledge. Research is where I wanted to be. 

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Animal behavior and neuroscience are broad and overlapping fields. Neuroscience is a great example of practical animal behavior that gives us insight into human and animal cognition and neurodegenerative diseases. As a lab manager at Providence College and Brown University I developed greater proficiency in my existing skills and as a researcher and developed as a manager in lab science. In my present position at the University of Pennsylvania I manage multiple multi-million dollar projects looking into brain patterns and biomarkers that may help us diagnose and treat people suffering from traumatic brain injury. I am proud to be a part of an institution that holds patient and animal care to such a high standard. I continue to work towards decoding the brain and behavior of all humans and animals I have the privilege to learn from. I look forward to my next steps! You never know where your questions and passions will lead you. I still find myself back underwater, despite my research now residing on land. Now go learn something new!

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Emma