Northwestern University, Brain, Behavior, & Cognition in Psychology
Fellowship Sponsor: Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Fellowship Site: Voice of America
@SadieWit and @PhDrinking
www.sadiewit.com
I’m a PhD candidate at Northwestern University within the Brain, Behavior, and Cognition area of the Psychology department. My lab, under Dr. Ken Paller, studies sleep and memory consolidation in healthy young adults. My specific research interests lie in how our memories change when they are stored, particularly during sleep. I’m investigating why some memories lose specificity and become more generalized schemas while other memories maintain high fidelity representations. In other words, sometimes it’s useful to just remember general patterns while other times it’s better to recall every detail of an event. How does our brain decide how to store a memory and can we influence that process during sleep? I have also begun a basic research project to study lucid dreams. Besides research, I spend much of my time working on various science outreach projects. In 2016, I started my podcast PhDrinking. In it, I interview graduate students from a variety of fields about their research with the express purpose of explaining complex ideas to a lay audience. I’ve also hosted several discussions about issues within academia such as the replication crisis or dealing with imposter syndrome. Beyond my audio work, I’ve also written several articles on sleep research and have helped organize both the Chicago and national ComSciCon (communicating science workshop for graduate students). When I’m not working on science or science communication, you can find me cycling through my city, often with my boyfriend and dog, in search of great new craft brews.
Fellowship publications at Voice of America
6/18/2018 South Asian Monsoons Remove Smog, Spread Pollution
6/21/2018 Study: Leptospirosis Spread by Cattle, Not Just Rats
6/21/2018 Leptospirosis Spread by Cattle, Not Just Rats- RADIO
6/22/2018 Eavesdropping on Birdsong- RADIO
6/22/2018 Algorithms Aid Tracking of Migrating Songbirds in Arctic
6/27/2018 Carnivores are Best at Predicting World Cup Winners
6/29/2018 Uganda Study: Popular HIV Drug not Linked to Depression, Suicidal Thoughts- RADIO
6/29/2018 Study: HIV Drug Not Linked to Depression
7/02/2018 'Unicorns of the Sea' at Risk From Increased Arctic Shipping
7/03/2018 Arctic Mammals Vulnerable to Ship Traffic- RADIO
7/06/2018 Scientists Working to Create Northern White Rhino Embryos
7/06/2018 Research Indicates Spiders Use Electric Fields to Take Flight
7/06/2018 Spiders Take Flight Using Electric Field- RADIO
7/09/2018 Balancing water use with nutrition in India- RADIO
7/09/2018 Study: India Could See Big Changes with Simple Shift in Grains
7/12/2018 Not Spared From Heat Wave Effects: College Students
7/13/2018 Heat waves affect college students, don’t just impact our most vulnerable populations
7/17/2018 Polio Eradication - RADIO
7/18/2018 Can Polio Workers Overcome Complacency, Conflict, Donor Fatigue to End the Virus?
7/18/2018 Thai Elephants Help Spread Jungle Fruit's Seeds
7/18/2018 Mega-fawning over elephants - RADIO
7/23/2018 Scientists Combine Shellfish, Tree Cellulose to Make Biodegradable Plastic Wrap
7/24/2018 Natural Plastic- RADIO
7/25/2018 Dogs Know When Their Owners Are Sad, Researchers Find
7/26/2018 Prosocial Pups - RADIO
7/26/2018 Study Suggests Your Dog Recognizes, Reacts to Your Feelings
7/31/2018 Cases of Tick-Borne Meat Allergy May Be on the Rise
8/02/2018 Study: Obese Individuals Shed Flu Virus Longer
8/06/2018 A Rare Disorder Causes Some People to Not Recognize Faces
8/08/2018 Scientists: Tunnels in Thai Garnets Might Be Due to Microbes
8/09/2018 Gemstones Marred by Tiny Tunnelers - RADIO
8/15/2018 Experimenting With the Magic Ingredient in Beer
8/16/2018 How a Single Shot Keeps You from Getting Sick
8/16/2018 Psychology Researchers Explore How Vaccine Beliefs Are Formed