Dr. Melissa Rosenkranz- Information for Prospective Graduate Students
Website: https://centerhealthyminds.org/about/people/melissa-rosenkranz
Current research: The broad strokes of my research program are described on the Center for Healthy Minds website. More specifically, I use the tools of brain imaging, immunology, and molecular biology to shed light on how psychological experiences, like stress or negative emotion, interact with the immune system resulting in relationships where chronic inflammation is associated with two-fold higher rates of depression and psychological stressors mobilize inflammatory responses. Much of this work has been done in the context of asthma, as chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. The long-term consequences of these relationships have been the focus of much of my recent work, where my lab has been trying to understand how chronic inflammation in the body contributes to neurodegeneration, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Communication Prior to Applying: My preference is to answer questions about the lab or research via email if the questions are short/self-contained. If prospective students have questions that can’t be easily answered via email, I am willing to have video calls to answer those questions. I would note thought that I don’t privilege or prioritize applications from prospective students who have contacted me prior to applying or who have had a video call with me. Instead, these calls are really for the prospective student to ask questions that impact whether they plan on applying. Please email me to schedule such a call, including the questions that you have in your request. I’d note that if you have questions about completing/submitting the UW Madison Psychology Department application itself, the best person to contact is our graduate coordinator, kbelt@psych.wisc.edu.
Areas I’m Willing to Advise Students in:Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and IGM. My research is highly interdisciplinary, though, and I also mentor students admitted to the Neuroscience Training Program and the Medical Scientist Training Program. If you have interests outside of one of these areas, I am open to co-mentorship.
How I Evaluate Applicants: Like all faculty members in the Psychology Department, I evaluate prospective graduate students in a holistic manner. I therefore consider all the possible ways in which students’ application materials can demonstrate excellence and a strong likelihood to thrive in the graduate program and in my lab. As such, the information below should be treated as general rules of thumb rather than a highly proscriptive “checklist” of attributes that candidates must have in order to be considered for admittance to my lab.
- Academic preparation: Though I don’t adhere to any official threshold for GPA, given the variability across universities, programs of study, etc., successful applicants to my lab do generally have a strong academic record and this is a factor that I consider when admitting students. Given the interdisciplinary nature of my research, I also look for evidence of an aptitude in other areas, such as cellular/molecular biology, computer science (writing code, in particular), immunology, or other areas that demonstrate intellectual curiosity in the content domains the comprise my research. A strong background in statistics is also helpful. I don’t expect any student to have completed coursework in all of these areas, but those who have taken courses and done well in one or more of these areas is likely to be more competitive than students who have not.
- Research preparation: While it is not a requirement to have research prior research experience, it is unusual for me to seriously consider a student who has little or none. Previous experience with neuroimaging data is a bonus and evidence of proficiency in writing is especially important to me in applicants.
- Motivation/drive: Opportunities for prior research experience and mentorship vary widely between undergraduate institutions. For this reason, evidence of personal initiative to seek out opportunities and experiences, through internships or volunteer activities for example, are also considered. In general, successful students in my lab are self-starters and highly motivated and able to work in an environment that is not highly structured.