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Year in Review

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2016-2017 in Review

Overview:

My experiences this past year have allowed me to refine my career goals.  Additionally, I have started developing my plans for after graduation.  While I had not considered it before, I am now exploring ways to take a gap year to pursue a fellowship researching abroad or an internship with the CDC.  Even though it is hard for me to believe that I am entering my last year as an undergraduate at Ohio State, I am excited to begin this last chapter and forge my post-graduation path.

Highlights of the Year:

  • Undergraduate Pelotonia Fellowship

The opportunity to become a part of Pelotonia has been transformative and humbling.  Since I hope to pursue a career as a research scientist, the experience I gained from developing a project proposal was invaluable to my future goals.  It has been humbling to be part of an organization composed of such passionate individuals who have dedicated their lives to the fight against cancer.  While I don’t plan on working within this field after graduation, I will remember the enthusiasm and ingenuity of Pelotonia in tackling one of the world’s largest medical problems as I move into different areas of research.

  • HIV: Microbiology to Macrohistory

During the spring semester I took the course HIV: Microbiology and Macrobiology, which is a taught across the disciplines of microbiology and history in order to analyze the emergence of HIV and the US HIV/AIDS epidemic.  By taking this course, I learned about the importance of the interplay between biology and society in the transmission and treatment of diseases.  The knowledge I gained about the connections between policy, culture, and health are helping me look beyond the narrow scope of biology as it relates to public health.  The field of emerging infectious diseases encompasses aspects of many different disciplines which makes it imperative to understand more than just how biology influences disease.

  • Introduction to Epidemiology

While this course only covered basic principles of epidemiology, it was my first exposure to the field of public health.  After this course, I am planning to take two more public health courses: Infectious Diseases in the Developing World and Outbreak Epidemiology.  Previously, I hadn’t considered a career working epidemiology, but after this course, I am looking into career options or internships that involve epidemiology so I can continue exploring this field.

  • Impact of HIV: Tanzania

I have searched for an opportunity to study abroad since arriving at OSU, but I was unable to find a program that excited me until I found this course.  For four weeks over the summer I will be studying aboard in Tanzania in order to learn about the HIV epidemic in Tanzania.  This region of the world is very relevant to the field of emerging infectious diseases, so I am excited to start learning about a culture that has an increasingly important role in public health.  Additionally, I will have the opportunity to conduct research while in Tanzania, and I am excited to learn about how public health research differs from the cancer biology research in which I have been participating.

Looking Forward:

In the next year I look forward sharing my work with the campus community through participation in poster presentations, first at the Fall Forum presenting my work in Tanzania and later at the Denman presenting my thesis research.  I am excited to dive deeper into the topics of epidemiology and genetics as I complete upper level courses in each topic.  Through course work I hope to further refine my post graduation plans by deciding whether to pursue a path more heavily focused on public health or a path focused on laboratory research.

G.O.A.L.S.

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[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

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[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.   For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

Artifacts

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[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation is a reflective description of the artifact that attempts to communicate its significance.  For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

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Ashley is a 4th year Eminence Fellow studying molecular genetics.  Since the summer of 2015 she has worked within the Coppola Lab in the Department of Cancer Biology and Genetics as a volunteer.  In 2016, she became more involved in the lab as an Undergraduate Pelotonia Fellow, working on projects studying the biology of skin cancers.  Working in the lab has provided her the unique opportunity to apply concepts from her genetics coursework to the real-world problems she encounters in her research.  She has also had the opportunity to present her work at the Denman Undergraduate Forum and the OSU CCC Annual Scientific Meeting.

Outside of research, she is involved with the Eminence class of 2018 service project, PassGo, as a member of the advocacy committee.  PassGo is an employment empowerment initiative that works within the Columbus community to connect formerly incarcerated individuals with small business jobs and advocate for community awareness of the hardships faced by this group.  Ashley is also a member of the OSU Hunt Seat Equestrian team and enjoys continuing her involvement in equestrian sports.

In her final undergraduate year, Ashley is completing an Honors undergraduate thesis based on her previous lab work.  After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to purse a PhD in virology in order to work within the field of emerging infectious diseases.  She hopes to create a career where she can combine her love of science and medicine to help prevent and treat global infectious diseases.