This month’s Student Spotlight features the final member of the Neuroscience Trinity Ambassador trio, Moray Abbey-Bada. Abbey-Bada is a senior Neuroscience major with a minor in Chemistry. Her interests lie in the biological functions of the brain, mental health, and sport—a unique niche not widely explored but one that could have a significant impact on athletes everywhere.
From a young age, Abbey-Bada has been intrigued by the complexities of the human body. As a strong advocate for well-being, both physically and psychologically, she sought out courses, research, and extracurricular activities that would further her understanding of the brain, behavior, and the intersection of mental health and sport. She believes that the Neuroscience major provided the perfect foundation to combine her interests in biology and her passion for mental health. Abbey-Bada recalls that the moment it all clicked for her was during the course Exercise and Mental Health, which she took during her sophomore year. This class introduced her to the critical relationship between neuroscience and sport psychology. Abbey-Bada also noticed how often sex-specific differences affect both protective and risk factors of exercise and sport on mental health. Wanting to explore this further, Abbey-Bada reached out to Dr. Shelby Baez of the Psychology of Sport Injury Lab at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Dr. Gregory Samenez-Larkin of the Motivated Cognition & Aging Brain Lab at Duke University to seek out research opportunities that would intersect all her interests. These conversations led her to pursue two semesters of independent study.
Through the two semesters of independent study, Abbey-Bada wrote a theory paper, Application of Theory for Individuals Returning from Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR), exploring stress, injury, and attention control. Her work was recently presented at the Applied Association of Sport Psychology conference in October 2024, where she won a student abstract award.
In addition, Abbey-Bada was selected as a Summer Neuroscience Program (SNP) fellow for 2024. SNP is an eight-week summer program that enables undergraduates to jumpstart their senior theses by working one-on-one with faculty mentors. During the program, she analyzed data on the relationship between trait mindfulness and brain activity in individuals recovering from ACLR. Her research for her senior thesis will further explore changes in the peripheral nervous system following ACLR.
“This research has deepened my understanding of the psychological factors influencing recovery outcomes, and it has inspired me to explore how mental health impacts athletes, especially those returning from injury,” she says.
Abbey-Bada's research topics are not just limited to neuroscience. She is also interested in studying human behavior and the interactions between individuals, groups, and institutions. She is collaborating with Dr. Tracie Canada in the Health, Ethnography, and Race through Sports (HEARTs) Lab, exploring the experiences of Black student-athletes at Division I institutions. This work was recently presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport in October 2024.
Outside of academics, Abbey-Bada is passionate about fitness and giving back to her community. As a personal trainer for Duke Recreation and Fitness, she shares her passion for fitness with others. She also serves as a Writing Consultant at the Thompson Writing Studio, helping fellow students refine their writing. Additionally, Morayo is a Cardea Fellow, the SNMA Liaison for Duke’s Minority Association for Pre-Med Students (MAPS), and a Community Outreach Officer for Duke’s Girls Who Lift (GWL) club.
In her senior year, Abbey-Bada was selected to serve as a Trinity Ambassador representing the Neuroscience Major. She is excited to provide support to underclassmen navigating the major, offering advice and sharing her passion. “Starting at Duke can be overwhelming, and I remember how helpful it would have been to have someone to guide me through the process,” she says. She experienced firsthand how diverse the field of neuroscience can be, and she wants to help future students discover the limitless potential of the field of neuroscience. “Neuroscience is the perfect major for students with diverse interests—it's interdisciplinary and offers a deep understanding of the brain and behavior”, she adds.
Looking ahead, Abbey-Bada plans to pursue an MD/PhD, with a focus on non-traditional fields like sport psychology, exercise science, and cognitive neuroscience. She envisions becoming a sports medicine physician who not only understands the physical aspects of injury recovery but also the rehabilitation process and the psychological factors influencing an athlete’s return to play.
