Lucas Casten joined the Michaelson Lab in 2020 as a clinical research assistant and worked as the 2e study coordinator. In 2021, he rejoined the lab as a student from the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics. His research projects mainly focus on the risk for psychiatric conditions, language ability, and their biological connection.

On December 1, Lucas successfully defended his PhD dissertation in front of friends and faculty. His thesis, titled "What Makes us Human: Genomic Insights into Cognition, Language, Migration, and Mental Health," reflects the work that he carried out during his time in the Michaelson Lab. 

Now that he has defended his thesis, he has officially earned his PhD in Genetics and will graduate this December. In January, Lucas will be moving to Germany to complete Post-Doc research. We are all very proud of Lucas and cannot wait to see what is next for him!