PhD candidate Giovanna Novi, a native of the small southern Brazil town of Sao Caetano Do Sul, recently began a 12-week rotation in the Health, Brain & Cognition Lab as part of the University of Iowa’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience.

Giovanna comes to Iowa from Colby College, Waterville, Maine, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, double-majoring in psychology and biology with a concentration in neuroscience. She credits her mentor at Colby College, Professor of Psychology Jen Coane with inspiring her interest in brain research.

“She was a very rigorous mentor in terms of giving feedback and allowing you to learn the research process from beginning to end. She was also very caring, which helped. She infused in me this excitement about cognition,” says Giovanna.

A high school project exploring why some students were not interested in particular academic subjects also influenced her academic focus. “One of our sources was a person with a post graduate degree in neuroscience. I just thought it was really interesting. The unknown aspect is attractive to me, knowing we don’t have the answers to a lot of things and wanting to find those answers.”

Giovanna said she’s had no lack of reinforcement since choosing Iowa for her PhD program. “It’s a reputation thing. Once I had committed to coming here, every single person I told knew how good of a program it is. It was lovely.”

Giovanna will work full-time in the HBC Lab during her rotation, then do similar rotations at two other labs on campus during the balance of the academic year. From the three labs, she’ll choose one where she’ll work for the next four years, then write her dissertation to earn her PhD.

In her off hours, Giovanna likes to bake, read, and play tennis. As a newcomer to Iowa City, she’s enjoying checking out the coffee shops in town, shopping at the farmer’s market, and visiting area museums.

She appreciates the warm reception from her colleagues. “It’s been great. Everybody is really helpful and available.”