Katie Showers

Katie Showers is a rising senior at the University of Missouri – St. Louis where she is majoring in psychology with a certification in trauma studies as well as a minor in biology. Her interests in the brain and body began in Biology I at Rosati-Kain High School. Since then, Katie has interned with the Kathy J. Weinman Children’s Advocacy Centre, scoring psychological measures and assisting the agency’s transition to ClinicTracker, an online mental health software system. Her exposure to a wide variety of psychological measures, clinical diagnoses, and therapeutic models continued to peak her interest in neural circuits, brain function, and the effect of clinical diseases on brain health, as well as physical health.

Katie is in pursuit of a career in neuroscience. Her intent to study brain function and circuitry in relation to symptomology for clinical diagnoses motivated her to pursue scientific research opportunities. She is currently conducting research at Washington University’s School of Medicine under Dr. Larry Snyder, MD/PhD. in the Department of Neuroscience.

This research examines the neural circuitry of short-term working memory, which is a critical component in fluid intelligence. Katie’s advice to future applicants is to “Jump into research with your best foot forward, even if you lack research experience! Apply yourself- give each task your all, keep your interests open, seek help when you need it, take instruction, expect to fail, and readjust yourself and your plan in the process.” When Katie is not busy fine-tuning her career goals, she enjoys mentoring, watching movies, traveling, and collecting shoes.