Welcome!

For animals who live in an unpredictable world, the ability to process and remember their sensory environment accurately is crucial for survival. Our lab focuses broadly on how such sensory representations form (learning) and persist (memory).

Our group is dedicated to undergraduate-driven neuroscience research. We pair behavioural studies with neuropharmacology and techniques in molecular biology to study the molecular mechanisms of olfactory memory.

The TONG RESEARCH GROUP  is at Earlham College in Richmond, IN, USA.

News/Updates:

Who’s ready for science??? We’re spending this summer doing research at Cornell University. For our project, we’ll make use of CU’s great microscopy core facilities. First lab meeting at the famous gimme! coffee. I guess #STEMatSLAC can sometimes happen at research-intensive universities??
Who’s ready for science??? We’re spending this summer doing research at Cornell University. For our project, we’ll make use of CU’s great microscopy core facilities. First lab meeting at the famous gimme! coffee. I guess #STEMatSLAC can sometimes happen at research-intensive universities??
Here’s a part of science that people don’t often get to see: reading a giant stack of the existing literature! These caffeine-and-snack-driven sessions are where new research ideas are born! #InsideScience #coffeeshopsaremyoffice
Here’s a part of science that people don’t often get to see: reading a giant stack of the existing literature! These caffeine-and-snack-driven sessions are where new research ideas are born! #InsideScience #coffeeshopsaremyoffice
Thanks to Cornell Grad School for inviting Prof Tong back to speak about #STEMatSLAC. I also loved hearing from other panelists about their work.
Thanks to Cornell Grad School for inviting Prof Tong back to speak about #STEMatSLAC. I also loved hearing from other panelists about their work.
Congratulations to this class of neuroscientists! #EarlhamEverywhere #ClassOf2019 #STEMatSLAC
Congratulations to this class of neuroscientists! #EarlhamEverywhere #ClassOf2019 #STEMatSLAC
Dr. Kathy Milar was an instrumental part of bringing research rigour to the Neuroscience Program at Earlham College. She was also the first woman to be tenured in our department. This coming week is her final week of teaching. Congratulations, Kathy!
Dr. Kathy Milar was an instrumental part of bringing research rigour to the Neuroscience Program at Earlham College. She was also the first woman to be tenured in our department. This coming week is her final week of teaching. Congratulations, Kathy!
Many congratulations to Naomi Ongjanco for a beautiful performance today! #STEMatSLAC #NeuroscientistsWhoPlayMusic
Many congratulations to Naomi Ongjanco for a beautiful performance today! #STEMatSLAC #NeuroscientistsWhoPlayMusic
Did you know that both the Psychology and Neuroscience Award winners this year have been part of the Tong Research Group? Just sayin’ 🤷🏻‍♀️ Congrats to Arish and Flannery! #STEMatSLAC #findwhatswrong
Did you know that both the Psychology and Neuroscience Award winners this year have been part of the Tong Research Group? Just sayin’ 🤷🏻‍♀️ Congrats to Arish and Flannery! #STEMatSLAC #findwhatswrong
Arish Mudra Rakshasa holding it down at the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (WCBSUR) in San Diego this past weekend. Congratulations on your presentation, Arish! #STEMatSLAC #UndergradResearch #FirstSoloConference
Arish Mudra Rakshasa holding it down at the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (WCBSUR) in San Diego this past weekend. Congratulations on your presentation, Arish! #STEMatSLAC #UndergradResearch #FirstSoloConference
Amazed and inspired by these neuroscientists! Aishat helped to organize a conference today for students of colour, and Kendra Parker (who will join #TRG this summer!) led a workshop on access to medicine and representation in medical research. #STEMatSLAC #STEMforThePeople #amazed
Amazed and inspired by these neuroscientists! Aishat helped to organize a conference today for students of colour, and Kendra Parker (who will join #TRG this summer!) led a workshop on access to medicine and representation in medical research. #STEMatSLAC #STEMforThePeople #amazed
But wait there’s more?? congratulations to Aishat Sadiq for winning the Earlham Peace Prize! Aishat’s proj hopes to bring mental health education and resources to immigrant communities in the US. #STEMatSLAC #TRG
But wait there’s more?? congratulations to Aishat Sadiq for winning the Earlham Peace Prize! Aishat’s proj hopes to bring mental health education and resources to immigrant communities in the US. #STEMatSLAC #TRG
Whoa! It’s a good week for #TRG! Congrats to Maren Schroeder! Her paper on “The Effects of Curcumin on Glial Morphology Following Spinal Cord Injury in Lampreys” was published in IMPULSE! #STEMatSLAC #UndergradResearch https://impulse.appstate.edu/articles/2019/effects-curcumin-glial-morphology-following-spinal-cord-injury-lampreys
Whoa! It’s a good week for #TRG! Congrats to Maren Schroeder! Her paper on “The Effects of Curcumin on Glial Morphology Following Spinal Cord Injury in Lampreys” was published in IMPULSE! #STEMatSLAC #UndergradResearch https://impulse.appstate.edu/articles/2019/effects-curcumin-glial-morphology-following-spinal-cord-injury-lampreys
Congratulations to Anthony Maggard who will be starting a Ph.D. program in Neuroscience at Brandeis University in the fall! Yes, Anthony!! #STEMatSLAC #TRG #UndergradResearch
Congratulations to Anthony Maggard who will be starting a Ph.D. program in Neuroscience at Brandeis University in the fall! Yes, Anthony!! #STEMatSLAC #TRG #UndergradResearch
Congratulations to Arish Mudra Rakshasa for getting the Watson Fellowship! Next year, Arish will travel to Australia, South Africa, Spain, Chile and France, to observe the impact that the HIV/AIDS has on the people in these different countries. Congratulations, Arish! #STEMatSLAC #Watson #FutureDiplomat
Congratulations to Arish Mudra Rakshasa for getting the Watson Fellowship! Next year, Arish will travel to Australia, South Africa, Spain, Chile and France, to observe the impact that the HIV/AIDS has on the people in these different countries. Congratulations, Arish! #STEMatSLAC #Watson #FutureDiplomat
Congratulations to Flannery Currin! Flannery will be pursuing her PhD in computer science at the University of Iowa next year. Her work will focus on accessibility in brain-machine interfaces. Wow! #STEMatSLAC #BMI #GradSchoolBound
Congratulations to Flannery Currin! Flannery will be pursuing her PhD in computer science at the University of Iowa next year. Her work will focus on accessibility in brain-machine interfaces. Wow! #STEMatSLAC #BMI #GradSchoolBound
Sam, the robot animal, getting crowded by young visitors at the Joseph Moore Museum open house. Many congratulations to my PSYC/CS340 for hosting such an engaging showcase of complex cognitions from simple computations! #STEMatSLAC #SciComm
Sam, the robot animal, getting crowded by young visitors at the Joseph Moore Museum open house. Many congratulations to my PSYC/CS340 for hosting such an engaging showcase of complex cognitions from simple computations! #STEMatSLAC #SciComm
A big congratulations to Aishat Sadiq for winning the Davis Peace Prize for her proposal to host mental health education workshops for new immigrant communities. Proud of you, Aishat! And proud to see TRG members being active in and out of the laboratory! #STEMatSLAC #undergradresearch #davisprojectsforpeace
A big congratulations to Aishat Sadiq for winning the Davis Peace Prize for her proposal to host mental health education workshops for new immigrant communities. Proud of you, Aishat! And proud to see TRG members being active in and out of the laboratory! #STEMatSLAC #undergradresearch #davisprojectsforpeace
Well, we’ve got olfactory bulb! Khyrul Khan is piloting a protocol this semester that allows us to label perineuronal nets with a fluorescent protein. We were just looking at some olfactory bulb slices this week, without the label. Science takes time and practice. #STEMatSLAC #GFP #Imaging
Well, we’ve got olfactory bulb! Khyrul Khan is piloting a protocol this semester that allows us to label perineuronal nets with a fluorescent protein. We were just looking at some olfactory bulb slices this week, without the label. Science takes time and practice. #STEMatSLAC #GFP #Imaging
PI Michelle Tong and student Flannery Currin are co-teaching a “Robotic Animals” class this semester. The class will allow students to explore how complex cognition can result from simple computations. We’re also doing a little study on how students learn best in multidisciplinary classes. #STEMatSLAC #CognitiveScience
PI Michelle Tong and student Flannery Currin are co-teaching a “Robotic Animals” class this semester. The class will allow students to explore how complex cognition can result from simple computations. We’re also doing a little study on how students learn best in multidisciplinary classes. #STEMatSLAC #CognitiveScience
We can use genetically encoded fluorescent proteins to selectively label the cells that we want to record from. Remember how hard it was to see the muscle cells? Well, take a look at them now that they have been labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). #STEMatSLAC #microscopy
We can use genetically encoded fluorescent proteins to selectively label the cells that we want to record from. Remember how hard it was to see the muscle cells? Well, take a look at them now that they have been labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). #STEMatSLAC #microscopy
‪I’ll be spending my day trying to find and record from transverse muscles in a fruit fly LARVA after ontogenetic stimulation of the motor nerve. The second image is what we see under the microscope. Can you see the muscle cell??????? #neuroscience #fruitfly #STEMatSLAC ‬
‪I’ll be spending my day trying to find and record from transverse muscles in a fruit fly LARVA after ontogenetic stimulation of the motor nerve. The second image is what we see under the microscope. Can you see the muscle cell??????? #neuroscience #fruitfly #STEMatSLAC ‬
Who’s ready for science??? We’re spending this summer doing research at Cornell University. For our project, we’ll make use of CU’s great microscopy core facilities. First lab meeting at the famous gimme! coffee. I guess #STEMatSLAC can sometimes happen at research-intensive universities?? Here’s a part of science that people don’t often get to see: reading a giant stack of the existing literature! These caffeine-and-snack-driven sessions are where new research ideas are born! #InsideScience #coffeeshopsaremyoffice Thanks to Cornell Grad School for inviting Prof Tong back to speak about #STEMatSLAC. I also loved hearing from other panelists about their work. Congratulations to this class of neuroscientists! #EarlhamEverywhere #ClassOf2019 #STEMatSLAC Dr. Kathy Milar was an instrumental part of bringing research rigour to the Neuroscience Program at Earlham College. She was also the first woman to be tenured in our department. This coming week is her final week of teaching. Congratulations, Kathy! Many congratulations to Naomi Ongjanco for a beautiful performance today! #STEMatSLAC #NeuroscientistsWhoPlayMusic Did you know that both the Psychology and Neuroscience Award winners this year have been part of the Tong Research Group? Just sayin’ 🤷🏻‍♀️ Congrats to Arish and Flannery! #STEMatSLAC #findwhatswrong Arish Mudra Rakshasa holding it down at the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference (WCBSUR) in San Diego this past weekend. Congratulations on your presentation, Arish! #STEMatSLAC #UndergradResearch #FirstSoloConference Amazed and inspired by these neuroscientists! Aishat helped to organize a conference today for students of colour, and Kendra Parker (who will join #TRG this summer!) led a workshop on access to medicine and representation in medical research. #STEMatSLAC #STEMforThePeople #amazed But wait there’s more?? congratulations to Aishat Sadiq for winning the Earlham Peace Prize! Aishat’s proj hopes to bring mental health education and resources to immigrant communities in the US. #STEMatSLAC #TRG Whoa! It’s a good week for #TRG! Congrats to Maren Schroeder! Her paper on “The Effects of Curcumin on Glial Morphology Following Spinal Cord Injury in Lampreys” was published in IMPULSE! #STEMatSLAC #UndergradResearch https://impulse.appstate.edu/articles/2019/effects-curcumin-glial-morphology-following-spinal-cord-injury-lampreys Congratulations to Anthony Maggard who will be starting a Ph.D. program in Neuroscience at Brandeis University in the fall! Yes, Anthony!! #STEMatSLAC #TRG #UndergradResearch Congratulations to Arish Mudra Rakshasa for getting the Watson Fellowship! Next year, Arish will travel to Australia, South Africa, Spain, Chile and France, to observe the impact that the HIV/AIDS has on the people in these different countries. Congratulations, Arish! #STEMatSLAC #Watson #FutureDiplomat Congratulations to Flannery Currin! Flannery will be pursuing her PhD in computer science at the University of Iowa next year. Her work will focus on accessibility in brain-machine interfaces. Wow! #STEMatSLAC #BMI #GradSchoolBound Sam, the robot animal, getting crowded by young visitors at the Joseph Moore Museum open house. Many congratulations to my PSYC/CS340 for hosting such an engaging showcase of complex cognitions from simple computations! #STEMatSLAC #SciComm A big congratulations to Aishat Sadiq for winning the Davis Peace Prize for her proposal to host mental health education workshops for new immigrant communities. Proud of you, Aishat! And proud to see TRG members being active in and out of the laboratory! #STEMatSLAC #undergradresearch #davisprojectsforpeace Well, we’ve got olfactory bulb! Khyrul Khan is piloting a protocol this semester that allows us to label perineuronal nets with a fluorescent protein. We were just looking at some olfactory bulb slices this week, without the label. Science takes time and practice. #STEMatSLAC #GFP #Imaging PI Michelle Tong and student Flannery Currin are co-teaching a “Robotic Animals” class this semester. The class will allow students to explore how complex cognition can result from simple computations. We’re also doing a little study on how students learn best in multidisciplinary classes. #STEMatSLAC #CognitiveScience We can use genetically encoded fluorescent proteins to selectively label the cells that we want to record from. Remember how hard it was to see the muscle cells? Well, take a look at them now that they have been labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). #STEMatSLAC #microscopy ‪I’ll be spending my day trying to find and record from transverse muscles in a fruit fly LARVA after ontogenetic stimulation of the motor nerve. The second image is what we see under the microscope. Can you see the muscle cell??????? #neuroscience #fruitfly #STEMatSLAC ‬

Feel free to explore this website for more information about what we do and how to join us!