Hi y’all! My name is Shanen and I am from the deep, deep South… of the globe. I was born and raised in Mauritius, a small island off the coast of Madagascar, once home to the now-extinct Dodo bird.
Shanen Ganapathee is a senior who wishes to be ‘a historian of the brain’
The reason I’m at Duke has to do with a desire to do what I love most — exploring art, science and their intersection. You will often find me writing prose; inspired by lessons in neuroanatomy and casting a DNA strand as the main character in my short story.
I’m excited about Africa, and the future of higher education and research on the continent. I believe in ideas, especially when they are big and bold. I’m a dreamer, an idealist but some might call me naive. I am deeply passionate about research but above all how it is made accessible to a wide audience.
I am currently a senior pursuing a Program II in Human Cognitive Evolution, a major I designed in my sophomore year with the help of my advisor, Dr. Leonard White, whom I had to luck to meet through the Neurohumanities Program in Paris.
This semester, I am working on a thesis project under the guidance of Dr. Greg Wray, inspired by an independent study I did under Dr. Steven Churchill, where we examined the difference in early human and Neandertal cognition and behavior. I am interested in using ancient DNA genomics to answer the age-old question: what makes us human? My claim is that the advent of artistic ventures truly shaped the beginning of behavioral modernity. In a sense, I want to be a historian of the brain.
My first exposure to the world of genomics was through the FOCUS program — Genome in our Lives — my freshman fall. Ever since, I have been fascinated by what the human genome can teach us. It is a window into our collective pasts as much as it informs us about our present and future. I am particularly intrigued by how the forces of evolution have shaped us to become the species we are.
I am excited about joining the Duke Research blog and sharing some great science with you all.