VERTICES PREP Program

Madison Yarbrough is from the small town of Poyen, Arkansas. As a first-generation college student, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience.

She started her biomedical research journey in high school as a member of the Vanderbilt Aspirnaut program, where she studied the structure and assembly mechanisms of Collagen IV protein in Drosophila, resulting in her first co-first-author publication in the Journal of Biochemistry. During her undergraduate career, Madison focused her research on computational psychology as she designed and carried out an independent honors thesis project studying the disparities in higher education of first-generation college students and students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. She was passionate about using the findings from this research in her leadership positions. Madison’s advocation efforts were successful and provided resources for underrepresented students. Her current post-baccalaureate work in Dr. Vivian Gama’s laboratory focuses on studying the non-canonical role of MCL-1 (a mitochondrial BCL-2 family protein) in mitochondrial morphology, long-chain fatty acid oxidation, and cell identity in human neural progenitor cells.

In the future, she plans to pursue a PhD that will allow her to further her studies in neurodevelopment. She hopes to one day start her own laboratory while also doing work in science policy. Outside of the lab, Madison enjoys Muay Thai kickboxing, hiking, and reading fantasy books.