Undergraduate researchers from Boise State’s School of Kinesiology represented the school at the 2nd Annual Neuroscience Day, held on campus earlier this month. The event featured insightful talks from international experts, alongside research poster presentations from both faculty and students. Attendees also had the opportunity to enjoy food and connect through networking with industry professionals.
Two kinesiology students (pictured above) from the Skill Acquisition and Psychophysiology (SAP) Lab, Bella Grant and Hailey Davis, earned 2nd place in the Undergraduate Poster Award category, as selected by faculty judges. Their poster highlighted emerging work on how brain activity measured using electroencephalography (EEG) can help researchers better understand the development of motor skill expertise.
Grant shared that the experience has helped her develop a deeper understanding of the research process and her own growth as a student researcher. “My favorite part of the research process has been learning how to think critically and challenge ideas, rather than just accepting what’s already known,” she said. “This experience has helped me grow in confidence, communication, and curiosity in ways that go far beyond the lab.”
Davis similarly emphasized how valuable it has been to work through uncertainty and learn how to navigate questions without obvious answers. “A part of the research process I have really valued is learning how to approach problems when there isn’t a clear answer and becoming more comfortable working through that uncertainty,” she said. “This experience has pushed me outside of my comfort zone, allowing me to build confidence, strengthen my communication and critical thinking skills, and expand my learning beyond the classroom as I pursue a career as a physician.”
Two additional undergraduate researchers from the SAP Lab, Spencer Petticrew and Tina Nguyen (both neuroscience majors), also presented their work at Neuroscience Day. Their poster, “Using brain signals to understand how feedback shapes motor learning,” exlored how the brain responds to performance feedback during skill acquisition, an important line of research for improving training strategies in sport, rehabilitation, and other applied learning settings.
Faculty supervisor Mariane Bacelar, Ph.D., emphasized that events like Neuroscience Day reflect the strength of Boise State’s undergraduate research culture and the value of providing hands-on opportunities for students to engage in real scientific discovery.