Faculty Focus: Mark Bardgett
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Northern Kentucky University invites professors with fascinating life portfolios, and Dr. Mark Bardgett is no exception. According to Mark, it was a keen sense of curiosity he developed during childhood, as well as watching his grandmother struggle with Alzheimer ’s disease that led him to concentrate his research on neuroscience (understanding of how the brain affects behavior).
Here at NKU, Dr. Bardgett overses research efforts to find an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s. He explained that NKU has been responsible for funding the majority of this research. Dr. Bardgett said, “I am extremely grateful to be able to continue my research and also extend opportunities to undergraduate students and graduate students to get hands on experience with these projects.” When you speak with Dr. Bardgett, you truly comprehend the passion he has for his research and knowledge in a variety of subjects within the field of psychology.
During the summer of 2008, Dr. Bardgett and his graduate students studied the effects of exercise and its impact on individuals who have sustained damage to the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for short term memory. NKU has provided them with an extensive laboratory and equipment that enables them to perform this work. As a result, their research lead to a recent discovery, which is that exercise can, in fact, help the brain retain information.
Since Dr. Bardgett has been at NKU, he has received an invitation to serve on the grant review committee for the National Institutes of Health, and his studies have been referenced in numerous magazines. Despite this, Mark stated, “The majority of the merits are to reward the hard work of the undergraduate and graduate students here at NKU.” A hard working individual, Dr. Bardgett expressed that he enjoys teaching in classrooms but really loves working one-on-one with students because it is the ultimate form of learning and teaching. It leaves one to truly believe that NKU surrounds students with professors who value “student learning,” and that is what getting education should be.