Caroline Habjan (AS ’15) completed her Capstone in biotechnology with Dr. Robert Silverman and Christine Rydelek at SUNY Upstate acting as her advisors. The title of Caroline’s Capstone is Maternal Obesity and Incidence of Depression. 

The study was conducted using a collaborative approach, combining retrospectively collected patient data from Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical Center. The data shows that morbid obesity is positively correlated with higher incidence of depression. This suggests that health care practioners should screen morbidly obese perinatal women for depression more frequently and assist these women in accessing psychological treatment and weight management options. This project yields results that have the potential to make treatment options better tailored, more efficient, effective and economically-sound for the obese, pregnant population.

Here’s the advice that Caroline has to offer current Honors students:

I would advise future Honors Students to brainstorm about Capstone topics early on in their collegiate career and to choose their ultimate Capstone topic based purely on passion and interest in the project material. No matter what hurdles you encounter in your work, you will be willing to work through them so long as you are passionate about your project! Don’t be afraid to ask for help! It’s surprising how many people will be interested in supporting you with your work! Good luck!