Ashley Marquardt, a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at the UM School of Medicine, was awarded a Graduate Student Association Global Travel Fellowship, sponsored by the Center for Global Engagement. The Fellowship is intended to encourage and support student participation in global scientific meetings.

Ashley used the award to travel to the 81st Katzir Conference: Sexual Dimorphism of Neuronal Circuits and Behavior" at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

She spoke about her research on sex differences in the gene networks underlying juvenile playfulness and how these suggest a distinct function for play in male and females.