Rachel Branco, Associate Teaching Professor, has been selected to receive a 2025 Dockweiler Award. This award is given by the university to recognize excellence in academic advising, noting the important role that advisors play in the student experience at Notre Dame.
Professor Branco serves as an advisor for the Neuroscience and Behavior Program. Going above and beyond, she excels at providing both inspiration and constructive critique in order to position students for the greatest opportunity to achieve their academic and professional goals. She also teaches multiple courses in the program, including Molecular Neuroscience, Environmental Exposures & the Nervous System, Neuropharmacology, and Principles of Biochemistry, all of which are well-received by students and consistently highly evaluated.
Students reflect positively on their time spent with Professor Branco. One student shared that Branco “has consistently been an amazing professor and wonderful advisor to me and many other students,” and that she has “offered her valuable insight and constructive redirection whenever needed… Without Dr. Branco, many of us would not have been able to flourish at the university in the ways that we have.”
Professor Branco received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Emory University, her M.S. in neuropsychology from the University of Maastricht, and her B.S. in neuroscience from Baylor University. She is a former Emory Woodruff Fellow and Fulbright Fellow.