Alumni Update: Jordan Logue Wins Award for Research

February 1, 2019

Jordan Logue attending the Society for Neuroscience conference last fall.

Honors Program alumnus Jordan Logue (biology ’13) won the Professional Training Development award at the Society of Neuroscience’s annual conference last fall when he presented his team’s research, “Effects of Social Isolation Rearing and Ketamine on Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity.”

“I presented our laboratory’s work on the experimental anti-depressant ketamine. In humans, extended loneliness has been shown to cause a variety of mental health issues. What we did is model that in a rat and see if we could reverse some of the effects of chronic social isolation using this new anti-depressant drug,” Logue said of the research he is conducting while a graduate student in the Program in Neuroscience at Florida State University.

The award is designed to promote and to recognize ambitious scientists who will benefit from the exposure and give them the experience of sharing their research and adding to the critical conversation. Logue’s research at Florida State University is impacting current medicine with human clinical trials

“It is nice to see the work actually make an impact out in the real world,” Logue said.

Logue sees his experience in the Honors Program as preparing him for the rigors of graduate school, both at Mercer University where he earned his Master’s degree and now at Florida State. Being in the Honors Program allowed him to challenge himself in the classroom while being among a community of like-minded scholars. And it gave him the opportunity to write a thesis.

“I studied the feeding and breeding behavior of sand fiddler crabs. Our research showed that the animals’ behavior was linked to lunar cycles, where breeding and feeding cycles among the males gave insights to successful reproductive strategies,” he said. After completion, Logue’s thesis was published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

“I love my friends that I made at Georgia Southern, and I’m really proud of all the work that I did,” Logue said.

He also had an opportunity to present his undergraduate research at various conferences, including several with the University Honors Program—notably the National Collegiate Honors Council meeting in 2012.

“I couldn’t have participated in all those conferences without the Honors Program funding,” Logue said. “It was a great experience to talk about my research with other students and with faculty.”

Conferences are a necessary aspect of a college education. Entering a field of professionals allows you to grow and to develop your ideas and research. Logue understands the benefits of participating in the scholarly conversation.

“Conferences allow you to talk to experts in the field about the cutting edge of research. At the Society for Neuroscience meeting, I listened to three lectures from world famous scientists. I met a Nobel Prize winner in person. I conversed with professionals from government agencies and drug companies, piquing their interest in my work,” Logue said.  “And sometimes you find a new technique. Sometimes you find a place you might want to work. Sometimes you find people you want to collaborate with in the future. I even got invited to speak at another conference next year at the Max Planck Institute.”

Many Honors Program students choose to attend graduate school after graduation, and Logue has advice for those thinking about that path. “Research mentors doing specific work that you interested in,” Logue said. “Read the published literature. Find something that interests you. See where authors are from and contact them to learn more about their program.”

“Graduate school differs in terms of how you spend and schedule your time. Undergrad centered on attending classes and participating in extracurricular activities. Graduate school’s focus is spending every moment available to you in your lab,” he said. “The amount of time you use outside of class focusing on one research topic is the biggest difference.”