Jessica Brommelhoff
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grew up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering
I have been interested in science for about as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Boston area and loved going to the Boston Museum of Science. It was always one of my favorite subjects in school. By the time I finished high school, I knew that I was particularly drawn to biology and psychology. At Wellesley College I majored in Psychobiology (and also English—I think it’s important to be well-rounded). While at Wellesley, I took advantage of an eclectic variety of research opportunities both on campus (working in a botany lab one summer measuring chlorophyll in rhododendron leaves, working on a semester project measuring serotonin levels in leach ganglia) and at MIT (working in the infant cognition lab—this one was a lot of fun). While I didn’t end up in botany, neurochemistry, or infant cognition, each of these experiences taught me valuable research skills and showed me how science could be applied into a career.
After college I studied chronic disease epidemiology (epidemiology is the study of causes, patterns, and effects of health and disease) at Yale School of Public Health, and specifically was interested in psychiatric epidemiology. From there, I became interested in studying the interplay between psychiatric and neurological conditions, aging, and the brain and went to work in a Neurology lab at Yale while applying to graduate school programs. I ended up at USC, where I obtained my Ph.D. in clinical psychology, studying the relationship between depression and aging and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as neuropsychology.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
Neuropsychology is a sub-specialty of psychology that focuses on how injuries, illnesses, or other processes involving the brain affect a person’s cognitive functioning (e.g., attention, memory, language abilities, etc.) and behavior. On a day-to-day basis I see patients with various neurological conditions (e.g. stroke, hydrocephalus, early Alzheimer’s disease) and assess the strengths and relative weaknesses in their cognitive function. Then, I combine the test results with other information, such as neuroimaging and medical history to formulate a neuropsychological profile and then provide recommendations for follow-up treatment and, ideally, strategies for how they can utilize strengths to compensate for cognitive weaknesses.
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
An in-depth understanding of brain structure and function is probably the most critical skill needed by a neuropsychologist. In addition, it is also important to know how medical illness or injuries may directly or indirectly affect the brain. Therefore classes I took dealing with brain and behavior, neuroanatomy, and health psychology were clearly useful. I also took quite a few classes in statistics—if you don’t have a good handle on statistical methods, you will never understand your data.
4. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
You would think with a Ph.D. in psychology, this would be easy for me to answer. I really don’t think there’s one singular trait that guarantees a successful career. I think curiosity is certainly a good start. Tenacity is also important—don’t give up when you hit a road block or make a mistake—instead, learn from them and then keep on going. Finally, I think flexibility and openness to other ideas can be quite useful as well. If you look at my career path, my path from high school student to neuropsychologist definitely not a straight line.
I have been interested in science for about as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Boston area and loved going to the Boston Museum of Science. It was always one of my favorite subjects in school. By the time I finished high school, I knew that I was particularly drawn to biology and psychology. At Wellesley College I majored in Psychobiology (and also English—I think it’s important to be well-rounded). While at Wellesley, I took advantage of an eclectic variety of research opportunities both on campus (working in a botany lab one summer measuring chlorophyll in rhododendron leaves, working on a semester project measuring serotonin levels in leach ganglia) and at MIT (working in the infant cognition lab—this one was a lot of fun). While I didn’t end up in botany, neurochemistry, or infant cognition, each of these experiences taught me valuable research skills and showed me how science could be applied into a career.
After college I studied chronic disease epidemiology (epidemiology is the study of causes, patterns, and effects of health and disease) at Yale School of Public Health, and specifically was interested in psychiatric epidemiology. From there, I became interested in studying the interplay between psychiatric and neurological conditions, aging, and the brain and went to work in a Neurology lab at Yale while applying to graduate school programs. I ended up at USC, where I obtained my Ph.D. in clinical psychology, studying the relationship between depression and aging and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as neuropsychology.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
Neuropsychology is a sub-specialty of psychology that focuses on how injuries, illnesses, or other processes involving the brain affect a person’s cognitive functioning (e.g., attention, memory, language abilities, etc.) and behavior. On a day-to-day basis I see patients with various neurological conditions (e.g. stroke, hydrocephalus, early Alzheimer’s disease) and assess the strengths and relative weaknesses in their cognitive function. Then, I combine the test results with other information, such as neuroimaging and medical history to formulate a neuropsychological profile and then provide recommendations for follow-up treatment and, ideally, strategies for how they can utilize strengths to compensate for cognitive weaknesses.
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
An in-depth understanding of brain structure and function is probably the most critical skill needed by a neuropsychologist. In addition, it is also important to know how medical illness or injuries may directly or indirectly affect the brain. Therefore classes I took dealing with brain and behavior, neuroanatomy, and health psychology were clearly useful. I also took quite a few classes in statistics—if you don’t have a good handle on statistical methods, you will never understand your data.
4. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
You would think with a Ph.D. in psychology, this would be easy for me to answer. I really don’t think there’s one singular trait that guarantees a successful career. I think curiosity is certainly a good start. Tenacity is also important—don’t give up when you hit a road block or make a mistake—instead, learn from them and then keep on going. Finally, I think flexibility and openness to other ideas can be quite useful as well. If you look at my career path, my path from high school student to neuropsychologist definitely not a straight line.
