During her tenure as an undergraduate at City College of New York, she specialized in biology and bio-technology – though her research at the time did involve studying Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease.
These research experiences sparked “a drive” in the field of neuroscience.
By the time she discovered she had this newfound interest, she was too far into her undergraduate career. But the option of going to graduate school presented her with an avenue forward.
“Some people had told me you can’t really do that because you didn’t do that in undergrad,” says Morales. “But the person I worked under, my principal investigator, [told me]: ‘That’s silly, you should absolutely do what interests you. Whatever you need to learn, you’ll learn it there.’
“And she was absolutely right.”
Now in her fifth year of pursuing a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Brandeis University, Morales stands as a researcher and a mentor in her own right.
