Rick Crouse, PhD

Rick grew up in Palatka, Florida and attended the University of South Florida, majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology. During undergrad, Rick interned at Draper Laboratory, researching microfluidic in vitro cell culture systems for both the brain and liver. His senior thesis involved determining the conditions necessary for long term primary liver cell culture that allowed for study of malarial liver infections. After graduation, he worked as a Preclinical Staff Scientist at Intezyne Technologies, evaluating the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of a novel drug delivery technology for cancer therapeutics. Rick earned his PhD from Yale's Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program in Dr. Marina Picciotto’s lab, investigating the effect of acetylcholine on appetitive learning in mice. During graduate school, Rick was active in many science communication and engagement initiatives and organizations, such as: Flipped Science Fair, Exploring Science, Brain Education Day, Yale Science Diplomats, Open Labs, and many more. He is now a Program Administrator in Yale's Office of New Haven Affairs, working with Yale Pathways to Science to inspire the next generation of scientists. Rick spends his free time gardening, walking his two cats, and playing board/card/video games.