Brandon Levy, 2014

Office of Communications and Public Liaison, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland

How has being a P&N graduate helped shape your professional success?

Duke is a name-brand university and that definitely opens doors. Also, Duke's neuroscience curriculum gave me a broad base of knowledge not just of the nervous system but also chemistry, physics, and biology, and that has been a real help to me in my science writing career.

What advice would you give students in Neuroscience?

Take a wide variety of classes, both in neuroscience and outside it. You never know what will really peak your interest and maybe even change your career path. Also, form study groups - studying with a friend is SO much more enjoyable than cramming alone, plus discussion class material and teaching it to others is a much better way to retain information than just re-reading your notes or the textbook. Finally, even though it may seem like everybody in the department is pre-med or headed for a PhD (or both), those aren't the only career paths you can take, so don't let anyone pressure you into them if that's not where your heart is.

Brandon Levy, 2014