McKenzie Prillaman, B.S.

Research Interests

McKenzie Prillaman graduated from the University of Virginia in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a minor in bioethics. During her first two years of her undergraduate studies, she investigated the effects of general anesthesia on the subiculum of the developing rat brain under the supervision of Dr. Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic. Her last two years at UVA were spent in the laboratory of Dr. Alev Erisir, where she explored the gustatory pathway in the tree shrew and completed a Distinguished Majors Thesis. She is currently a Postbaccalaureate IRTA Fellow studying nicotine dependence in adolescents versus adults using the rat model. In the future, she plans on pursuing a PhD in cognitive psychology or neuroscience.