Undergraduate Research Experience, Summer 2021

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed. 

For my STEP signature project, I conducted undergraduate research for my senior honors thesis. My summer was mostly spent doing a literature review and figuring out which sources to use for my project, as well as submitting my proposal to the IRB for social and behavioral sciences at OSU. I also met with my advisor and created a timeline for the continuation of my project into the fall, as well as a method for data collection (participant observation and interviews).

  1. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place. 

My understanding of myself and my assumptions changed significantly. My research is on eating disorders and cultural environments, and I had always learned about these disorders in a biomedical context. From the first time I was introduced to these concepts, they were in clean and neat diagnoses (bulimia, anorexia nervosa, etc.). However, doing this research opened my eyes to the socio-cultural manifestation of disordered eating. This experience definitely exposed me to the ways disordered eating is being conceptualized in different academic fields. My literature review was interdisciplinary, with a variety of sources providing multiple frameworks for understanding this complex issue. It allowed me to be more aware of the ways that these diseases manifest in daily life and the underlying cultural atmospheres that influence the development of these diseases. 

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

The primary event that led to the change above was the literature review and recruitment of participants for my project. In exposing myself to a wide variety of theoretical frameworks and interpretations, I learned that the way I previously learned about disordered eating/eating disorders was not sufficient for their current cultural manifestation. For example, in addition to psychological/biological frameworks for understanding eating disorders, I also looked into a feminist-cultural framework that helped to frame the demographics, cultural position, and physical manifestation of eating disorders in a largely female population. 

The other aspect of this experience was attempting to find participants who would be willing to speak with me about their experiences with disordered eating behaviors. While I anticipated this being one of the most challenging aspects of the project, I was unfortunately surprised to find that many people I knew were suffering from some form of disordered eating. It certainly helped the research to be able to connect with young women around my age who struggle with this, and talking with them helped me to understand why this is such a problem in my demographic. It also helped me understand that many people are struggling with mental health situations behind the scenes that no one may know about. 

Additionally, working on this project has given me a newfound respect for scholars that commit to doing research as a career. I do not have an interest in academia, or pursuing a career that involves this type of research. It helped to solidify my career trajectory in many ways; while I am interested in epidemiology, healthcare, and public health, I do not envision myself pursuing a future as a medical anthropologist, though their work is extremely important to my field of interest. 

  1. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans

. This transformative experience has been significant to my life in many ways. For starters, I had never embarked on such a research project of my own before. While I had been involved in various projects in the past, this was an entirely different endeavor. Furthermore, I learned about multiple theoretical angles through which to view something as complex as disordered eating, which is often a biomedically framed illness. Understanding the cultural and sociological frameworks was invaluable in forming my understanding of how these behaviors manifest in individuals’ daily lives. Additionally, doing this research helped to solidify my career path. Though I won’t be pursuing anthropology or medical anthropology at a higher level, I would like to work in some form of healthcare. 

 

STEP Reflection: Undergraduate Research – Shanila Reza

 

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.

The ElectroScience Lab has demonstrated the feasibility to monitor joint flexion and rotation using wearable electrically small loop antennas. Currently, the research uses canonical (cylindrical) tissue models. The objective of this research is to transition cylindrical to anatomical models which will be used to refine the sensors. The anatomical details will be varied for diverse individuals and then sensors will be optimized for each individual to aid in finding calibration techniques for real life operation. To meet the objectives mentioned, canonical tissue models are replaced with anatomical ones, as readily available in libraries tied to electromagnetic solvers. In the future, these results can be used to calibrate the sensor in real world conditions. The BioModel with the sensor is shown below

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the
world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

My undergraduate research thesis was a transformational experience for my life for many reasons. One of them being, I gained a better understanding of what my priorities will be when going forward in my career.  My STEP project has helped me discover research is and always will be a priority of mine when looking for projects to work on whether those projects are in industry or in academia.

Also my view of electrical engineering was broadened. I have always been interested in physical rehabilitation related engineering, but I did not even know about monitoring kinematics garments before last year, and working on my thesis really opened my eyes to an important area within electrical engineering.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature
Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those
affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences
completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

Mentoring from Ohio State faculty members and graduate students during my STEP Signature project led to my transformation. I was mentored by Dr. Asimina Kiourti and her PhD student Vigyanshu Mishra. The both helped explain the high level content to me in a way I would be able to understand which set me up for success in research.

Additionally, attending biweekly research group meetings to present my progress helped in my transformation. My presentation skills grew and these research meetings were a great opportunity to interact with members in the lab and ask questions.

Also, presenting at the Undergraduate Research Forum led to my transformation. Presenting at the undergraduate research forum gave me an opportunity to compose my research so far that I am proud of and made me see the progress I have been making. The research forum also allowed for an opportunity for me to share to others about work I am passionate about

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

Transforming me to be more research oriented when looking for future opportunities has truly changed the course of my life. I now focus on applying to only research oriented jobs. Additionally, this past year I applied to graduate schools so I can continue exploring research and gain skills to better suit me for research oriented engineering jobs.

Last semester I worked at Battelle on work much more research oriented than my previous internships. I worked on the NeuroLife project and drug delivery devices. Researching at the ElectroScience Lab set me up well for Battelle by giving me valuable engineering research skills.

My transformational experience also prepared me for graduate school, and it made me more confident in my decision to go to graduate school. I recently decided to attend Carnegie Mellon for Electrical Engineering.

 

Undergraduate Research with the Peer Assessment Rating Index

My STEP signature project focused on Orthodontic research utilizing the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index. This index provides a model for scoring teeth pre and post orthodontic treatment to gauge how effective the orthodontic treatment was. My project consisted of learning the scoring index, getting calibrated by scoring 30 cases, and passing the calibration test. Another big part of the research I participated in was taking patient data from various patient databases and putting it into excel spreadsheets to be used and analyzed later.

When I first started this project, I was very apprehensive about participating in research because I thought it would be too difficult and I wouldn’t be able to understand the complexities of the subject. I had never participated in research before and while it sounded interesting, I was also nervous to step out of my comfort zone. Once I actually started the research and started to learn more about what I was doing I slowly became more comfortable scoring models by myself without the assistance from faculty or others participating in the same research. This was a big deal for me, and it helped boost my confidence and my trust in my abilities to pick up new material.

Going into it, I assumed that the research would be too difficult for me to complete because I was unfamiliar with the details of orthodontics, but once I started learning it was a lot more manageable than I thought. The material was interesting to me as well, so it motivated me even more to really understand the detail that goes into the research I was doing. This showed me that even though something might be higher level than what I am used to, if I find it interesting, I can put in the time and effort to learn enough about it. I had no previous dental knowledge except for the very limited knowledge I gained shadowing, but because I found the material so exciting and interesting it made it easier to learn and apply. This shows me that finding things I am passionate about is such a big motivator and I should pursue future endeavors that I am genuinely passionate about.

When learning to score the models of teeth, I practiced with a few models and then I had to score 30 models and send my scores to be graded and reviewed. Then I would get my scores back saying I passed or failed. When I sent my results, I was so excited to get them back, but it turns out I incorrectly scored some models and ended up failing that test. It was a big blow to my confidence, and I felt like I didn’t actually know what I was doing. I then had to re-score certain models and send it back to get rescored. Once I got my second results back it said I passed, and I was so relieved that I did not have to re-score again.

When I found out I failed the first time, I was so nervous that maybe I was not actually qualified to do this work. The faculty I was working under, Dr. Deguchi in the Orthodontics department reassured me that many orthodontic residents themselves don’t pass the first time and that it wasn’t a big deal, and I should just score them again. It was really reassuring having a faculty member who is so high up say that I can try it again, and that a lot of people don’t pass the first time. It really put things in perspective and made me feel better about failing the first time. If orthodontic residents who have gone through 4 years of dental school can still fail the scorings, then obviously if I fail the first time, it is not the end of the world.

When scoring models, at the beginning when I was more unfamiliar with the process I relied a lot on the two other students I was doing research with. We would compare scores and talk about it and it was a big collaborative effort to get accurate scores. This worked out well in the beginning because it allowed us to really understand the measurements and find the most accurate score. Later on, once I was more confident in scoring and more familiar with the process, I was able to be comfortable scoring models on my own without assistance from others. This was a big deal because the crutch of working with others was so familiar but working by myself and not having anyone to compare to made me really pay attention to what I was scoring so I could be as accurate as possible on my own.

Looking back on this experience, I can see many ways in which this has an impact on my future goals. I want to go to dental school and later become a dentist and I am going to have to learn how to do many procedures on my own and to be confident in myself without the crutch of other people helping me. When working on a patient and being the dentist in the office, you are the sole provider, and you are the one diagnosing and making treatment plans. Learning to be sure of myself and confident in my knowledge and my abilities is crucial to providing good patient care.

Additionally, dental school is going to be 4 years of really intense studying and school work. I will likely struggle with many subjects and with developing my hand skills. Pushing through the difficulty, even if I fail at first is key to being successful later on. While no one likes to fail at things, being able to work harder and try again is so important for learning and developing my skills as a professional. Working on making yourself better is only ever a good thing and it is something I will continuously need to work on in dental school and out of dental school.

PAR scoring sheet and model

Ruler used to measure models

 

 

STEP Signature Project: Transit Mobility and Urban Development for Byesville, Ohio

For my STEP Signature Project, I had the opportunity to partake in a City and Regional Planning graduate studio this semester. In our studio, we analyzed the geographical area of Byesville, Ohio, and addressed the challenges of transit mobility and urban development in rural areas. During the project, my role was to conduct aerial footage and photos of existing conditions and assist with 3-D rendering maps for potential redevelopment.

Before completing my STEP project, I only could visualize site plans and maps from a 2-D perspective. In my CRPLAN courses, I used google maps and GIS to collect imagery. My assumption and knowledge of analyzing 3-D maps and site plans were always behind a computer or a textbook. My viewpoint drastically changed once I had the opportunity to fly a drone. Flying a drone was an exhilarating and eye-opening experience that transformed my understanding of urban planning and mapping. I went from visualizing maps in 2-D (flat picture)  to seeing more defined and vivid details in real life. 

During my project, I had the opportunity to work independently. In addition, I collaborated with graduate students, some of whom are working professionals in the planning field. Being a part of a graduate course is more involved and engaging with issues and topics. I was able to apply practical knowledge when resolving community issues. I had the opportunity to meet residents and stakeholders to discuss city issues and recommend improvements. This experience provided me with first-hand knowledge about participating in a planning project. 

One activity that transformed my experience was learning how to fly a drone. Before flying the drone, I had to learn about the mechanisms and control functions of the drone.  Part of my research involved watching numerous videos on Youtube and enrolling in a drone pilot course. Doing this preliminary research gave me an advantage before heading out to fly with my mentor. One of the things we did was to capture a visual mood for videos and 3-D renderings.

Having the opportunity to fly and navigate a drone was an impactful experience for my academic and professional career. Flying a drone allowed me to get quality aerial imagery and precision in certain geographical areas. I also had the opportunity to learn Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing. Now, I can produce high-resolution photos and videos for potential clients, government officials, and use them for commercial use. I can use these skills to enhance my resume and portfolio.

STEP REFLECTION: Museum Study Skin Preparation

1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three
sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

For my STEP Signature Project, I participated in Undergraduate Research through the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology and the Museum of Biological Diversity at OSU. In my role as a volunteer lab assistant I dissected a variety of animal species (squirrels, hares, chipmunks, etc.) and extracted tissues that were used for a variety of research studies. Additionally, I would skin and stuff these specimens so that they can be put on display as museum study skins.

2. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the
world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

In the future I would like to become a veterinarian, therefore, I wanted to find a STEP Signature Project that would aid me in accomplishing this goal. I learned so much during this experience, but also realized how much more I would need to learn in order to reach my goal. Additionally, I was able to work on my time management skills during my project as I was also a full time student. Working for 15 hours a week and taking 17 credit hours allowed me to learn how to juggle going into the lab while attending my courses and completing homework and studying for exams. While this was not an easy task, I feel that it has helped me prepare for a future in which I will have to manage a lot more variables as a veterinary student and then as a veterinarian.

3. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature
Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those
affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences
completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

The Museum study skin preparation allowed me to practice and refine skills that would be necessary as a veterinarian. As an Animal Science major I have taken an anatomy and physiology course in which all of the learning is done by looking at images in a textbook. Working in the lab I got to see the difference between the anatomy of a real animal and the images I had previously seen in a book. I learned so much by simply noting the anatomic differences between animal species and placement of organs depending on age and sex. Some organs that I had to find and take samples of included the bladder, spleen, cecum, kidney, liver, and heart.

While extracting tissues from organs I had the opportunity to improve my fine motor skills. I was taking samples from organs such as the bladder and cecum from animals that ranged in size from a few inches to over a foot long, therefore, I had to carefully mauvere inside the body cavity to find what I was looking for. In a smaller specimen the bladder can be about the size of a push pin! Because these specimens are going to be put on display once finished, I had to preserve the skin and try to make the smallest incision possible when looking for organs. This is especially relevant to what I want to do in the future, because as a veterinarian you want to minimize the size of an incision to prevent infection and other issues. Anatomy and fine motor skills are only a fraction of what is required to be known in order to properly treat patients as a vet, and my STEP experience allowed me to understand how much I have left to learn.

Due to COVID-19, I was the only undergraduate student working in the laboratory and prepping specimens,  I therefore had to have a relationship with the principal investigator (PI). Working together, we formulated a schedule for when I would go into the lab and he would take the frozen specimens out to thaw beforehand so that I could begin to work as soon as I got the lab. Having a working relationship with the PI allowed me to manage my time better. In situations where I could not make it into the lab due to a conflicting presentation or exam, I would communicate with the PI and find a solution. This communication and mutual understanding between the PI and myself allowed me to manage both my work in the lab and my coursework.

4. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or
two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your
academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans

As mentioned earlier, I would like to pursue a career as a veterinarian. Due to this experience I have come to realize many things about what I will need to do to reach my professional goals. I will need to manage my time carefully and learn more information about animals besides basic anatomy and physiology. My desire to pursue my goals has been further solidified by this experience, I am willing to put in the work and manage my time to reach my goal. Additionally, preparation of these specimens can become messy and bloody which may disturb many people. My ability to deal with this sight and sometimes smell reinforced my thoughts that I can succeed as a veterinarian, as this is commonplace in the field. This experience has been extremely beneficial in that it allowed me to aid in research, learn more about anatomy, refine my motor skills, and manage my time. Not only are some of these skills useful in everyday life, all of them are essential to attaining my professional goal.

Here are some photographs of finished specimens:

 

STEP Reflection

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

My STEP Signature Project was an undergraduate research project that was completed through Ohio State’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Under the supervision of a faculty member, I researched child Spanish lexicon and morphosyntax as a predictor of inhibition using data collected from monolingual Spanish-speaking children in Mexico City. As an undergraduate student studying speech & hearing sciences, as well as Spanish linguistics, this project allowed me to participate in the research that is happening within both disciplines. Additionally, I was able to create an undergraduate thesis from this project, defend it, and will now be receiving research distinction when I graduate in May.

  1. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place. 

For this project, my goal was to understand the connection between not only lexical development and inhibition, which seems to be the primary relationship discussed in the literature, but also the relationship between morphosyntax and inhibition. My hope in completing this project was that I could learn something about the relationship between inhibition and two distinct domains of language. From this, I was able to transform my previous knowledge on the topic by deepening my understanding of Spanish linguistics and child language development, which will be important for me in my future career as a speech-language pathologist. 

  1. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation. 

My original STEP Signature Project was going to be a study abroad trip to Valencia, Spain, as a way for me to enhance my Spanish speaking abilities through specific classes for my Spanish major, and through the immersion of being in a country where Spanish is the primary language that is spoken. However, due to COVID, I was unable to go to Spain in the summer of 2020 as I had originally planned. While this was disappointing, it ended up working out in the end, as my professor had reached out to me asking if I wanted to complete an undergraduate thesis within the Spanish department. I jumped at this opportunity, as I knew it would be a great way to prepare me for the rigor of graduate school, which is necessary for me to become a speech-language pathologist. 

Overall, my research project helped me to better understand child language development. When looking at inhibition ability in children from previous studies, we find that bilingual children have stronger inhibition than monolingual children do, as bilingual children have a more expansive knowledge of language. Both languages are simultaneously active when a bilingual is using one of them. Additionally, the previous literature explains how a child’s executive function ability is correlated to cognitive abilities like inhibition, which is important to our study. Other measures like fluency and morphosyntax also give us an idea of the cognitive abilities of a child, allowing us to better understand their lexical capabilities, which is important for us in evaluating their inhibition. As we have just seen, it is also possible that morphosyntactic variants of the roots of an inflected language, like Dutch, could be lexically stored, which would logically mean that increasing knowledge of morphosyntax in children should also be predictive of their inhibition abilities. 

These findings led me to ask if expressive and receptive measures of lexicon are predictive of typically-developing monolingual child Spanish-speakers’ inhibitory ability. Since we already have this information from the previous studies about inhibition and executive function in typically developing and non typically developing monolingual English speaking children, we were curious if these findings applied to typically-developing monolingual Spanish speaking children. We assume that these findings are not language particular to English. Through my research, we were able to conclude that inhibition and morphosyntax are indeed predicted by lexical development in child Spanish. 

This project also allowed me to learn quite a bit about specific populations. In the previous literature, we know that children on the autism spectrum and children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are known to have lower executive function (inhibitory) abilities than typically-developing children. As someone who plans to work with children on the autism spectrum and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I was able to develop a better understanding of language development in these children, in addition to bilingual children and other groups of children. 

  1. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

Through this undergraduate thesis project, I learned many valuable skills. Many of the Master’s programs for Speech-Language Pathology require the completion of a Master’s Thesis Project, so having this experience allowed me to understand what this process will consist of when I must do the same in the near future, as well as prepare me for the rigor of graduate school. Additionally, this project was transformational because I was able to contribute to the research being conducted in the field of speech-language pathology, as well as in the field of Spanish linguistics. The experience I gained of possibly contributing ideas and thoughts that have not been considered by professionals in the field that could be helpful in understanding this phenomena is very exciting. 

Thank you STEP for this wonderful opportunity as an undergraduate! I am so appreciative and have learned so much.

 

STEP Reflection

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed.

My STEP project consisted of completing research distinction for my interior design senior capstone project. This research project aims to connect literature concerning place attachment theory, creative autonomy, and slow fashion to inform the interior design of a community-based fashion makerspace. The proposed program seeks to connect Franklinton residents with their community and with Columbus’ burgeoning fashion industry.

  1. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

This project transformed my perception of how interior design can positively serve a marginalized community. Through my research I learned more about their neighboring town of Franklinton, Ohio. I discovered that this community faces a 7.8% unemployment rate, almost doubling the national average. Similarly, Franklinton’s median household income of $36,000 represents a fraction of the country’s $61,937 average. Nearly half of Franklinton residences house children, 65% of which are considered single-parent homes. Furthermore, the area’s low property prices have gained the attention of developers who want to turn the area into a thriving arts district. While this may seem like a positive change, this development could significantly raise the cost of living and push out current residents who have called Franklinton home for decades. 

In turn, my research distinction project has taught me more about the negative effects of gentrification.  Furthermore, my cross-disciplinary literature review of psychological theories and sustainability principles have taught me how designers can apply knowledge from other fields to help us practice social responsibility when designing the built environment. 

 

  1. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation.

Overall, this research investigation changed my perception of the potential reach of my field of study. I discovered that interior design has the real potential to create positive change in a community through community-focused programming and by integrating the local culture into design decisions. By speaking with local non-profit leaders in the Franklinton area, I was able to build new relationships within the Columbus community. I learned about the type of work they do to serve Franklinton residents, which ranges from helping to provide them with affordable housing options to supplying free meals. These preliminary interviews also revealed the opportunity for increased creative opportunities in the area. While many artists are beginning to rent studio spaces in Franklinton and are changing the area into an arts district, there are not many creative programs that exist for the generationally settled residents. 

These discoveries led me to my thesis— designing a community-based fashion makerspace for the Franklinton neighborhood. By repurposing an abandoned fire engine house from 1917, my design proposal would preserve the urban fabric of the neighborhood and preserve its history as the first settled town in central Ohio. Furthermore, fashion-based programming would connect residents to Columbus’ burgeoning fashion industry. Through my research I discovered that behind New York and L.A., Columbus has the third highest concentration of fashion designers in the United States. I reasoned that Franklinton residents should not be left out from their community’s success and would benefit from a program that connects them to the fashion industry pipeline. 

Furthermore, I discovered how the psychological theory of place attachment and research on slow fashion can inform interior design decisions. Ultimately I translated my literature review into four suggestions that designers should consider when planning a community-focused makerspace; cultivate community relationships, support the making process, use materials to tell a story, and put users at ease. I then translated these suggestions into 24 different design implementation examples within my own space’s design. 

While my project specifically investigated psychological and sustainability-related subject matter, I learned that designers can look to countless other fields to inform their work and to create environments that better serve society. These areas of study could include sociology, public health, social work, anthropology, urban planning, or history to name a few. By looking to experts in other fields, designers can broaden the reach of their projects to hopefully benefit the marginalized and underserved. 

 

  1. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans.

This research project strongly informed the direction that I want to take my future interior design career. As a graduating senior I am considering what kind of impact I want my job to have and what will make me feel satisfied in my professional trajectory. This project has confirmed my desire to work on social-impact projects that benefit underserved communities. Furthermore, this project has taught me how to integrate my psychology minor with my interior design major. By combining these two fields, I created an evidence-based space proposal that would hopefully create positive experiences for users. Since this project is not actually being built, I cannot conduct a post-occupancy analysis to determine if my hypothesis was correct. However, this project has laid the groundwork for how to use research to inform design decisions. Hopefully if I design a space that is built one day I will be able to perform this type of analysis to further learn if evidence-based interior design decisions are successful in positively shaping the human experience. 

 

Analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease Precursors Through the Department of Biochemistry at The Ohio State University

My signature STEP project entailed working on identifying how synaptic activity changes in the presence and absence of varying molecules and genes. To achieve this, I worked on genotyping mice and determining what genes were present. Additionally, I quantified images of pre- and post- synaptic markers to determine synaptic changes between wildtype and variable mice.

The transformational and educational rigor aspect of this project stemmed  from my immersion in a research laboratory as a researcher for a project. When trying to quantify colocalization of pre- and post- synaptic markers, we noticed that it took a large amount of type to identify the synapses. To address this issue, I began researching engineering technologies, such as ImageJ, can improve and provide a computational analysis of synapses. As an engineering major, deciphering how previous methodologies can be applied to our approach was extremely interesting and pushed me to apply my engineering knowledge on a medical research application.

By working with another undergraduate researcher, I was able to understand the exact needs for quantification. By completing the tedious task of quantification on my own, I understood how much effort goes into methods and how engineering technologies can be used to improve research practices.In addition to my own project involvement, our entire research team participated in weekly research meetings discussing current projects and research papers. The post-doc individuals on our team are extremely knowledgeable and educated us thoroughly on concepts that we may not have understood on our own. By interacting with the other researchers, I was able to understand the other projects and how they all interact and focus on the ultimate same goal; understanding the mechanism of Alzheimer’s Disease. 

The knowledge I have acquired from this research project has added great value to my life. A couple summers ago, I worked as a nursing aid at a retirement home and got the opportunity to take care of many amazing residents that are unfortunately suffering with Alzheimer’s Disease and other memory-related illnesses. By learning about all the research focusing on the disease, and even participating in it, I am participating in efforts that could actually change the lives of those suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, making this experience truly transformational and adding a great amount of value into my life. 

After gaining an undergraduate degree, I am planning on attending medical school. As a student, it is difficult to be given the opportunity to take the lead on a research question, and this project gives me that chance. Given this opportunity, I will be able to reinforce my goals and hopes to treat people suffering from illnesses and keeping people healthy. By conducting research, I will be learning about how diseases affect individuals at a DNA level. By understanding the DNA and molecular alterations that result in the diseases affecting the entire individual, I will better understand the underlying causes of diseases. By understanding this, I can see how researchers are attempting to prevent diseases at a molecular level while I will hopefully be preventing them at a less specific level. This is significant because I will learn how researchers and doctors ultimately have the same goals and how what each of them do is important for the progression of the other’s goals.

Validation of a Novel Training Mode

My STEP project was focused on continuing my research into validating a projection device as an educational tool, specifically for surgical skills training. Throughout the duration of my project, I engaged in extensive literature reviews, refined training protocols, and aided in getting regulatory approval for a forthcoming study.

As someone who is interested education, this research project was particularly enlightening. I discovered that the transference of information and skills can be augmented and improved in innumerable ways and that new innovations are constantly improving such basic things as communicating information amongst ourselves. My explorations into education research have expanded my understanding of education from a means of passing on information to a science of communicating and sharing. I now see that the educational landscape will be continuously evolving forever as we continue to broaden our understanding of how the brain works and how to refine our methods of inputting information into it. I have also gained even further appreciation for educators who take on the task of educating ten, twenty, or hundreds of different minds that learn and think in vastly different ways.

A major part of my project involved reading and digesting literature on education. This activity had a major influence on the changes noted above. I was exposed to more information on the science of educating than I had ever previously consumed in my life. I learned how different modes of teaching are beneficial in different circumstances, how vastly different approaches can have similar effects, and how there is no true correct way to teach. Simply appreciating the complexity of education reflected in the thousands of words in which these authors expounded upon it was a joy of mine.

In addition to reading about educating, developing a protocol with the intent of educating medical interns was similarly enlightening. While I have taught for some years and tutored for many more, I have never truly sat down and thought about how I would, in a totally controlled manner, create a procedure detailing each step of a training process with the intent of imparting some skill upon my trainee. Educating is an inherent human trait so ingrained that taking a step back and observing it in such a sterile manner opens your eyes to how much we take for granted our abilities to effectively communicate and teach each other. Working through such a procedure myself was more difficult than it seemed, but it was well worth it for the gain in perspective.

While I have touched on my exploration of general education literature, my investigation of cutting-edge research on education was rewarding in its own sense. On its own, my research project is quite enticing for my imaginative mind. The far-off extension of this idea is an augmented reality wherein everything an educator does can be projected as a hologram or mapped to a trainee’s own hands such that the trainee only must follow hand-to-hand what their instructor’s projection is doing, almost entirely eliminating the barrier between instructor and learner. Reading the myriad of other innovative educational methods has allowed my mind to explore even further and grasp that the science of education is just as complex as any other.

The aforementioned changes in my perspective and understanding of education re undoubtedly beneficial for me, as I absolutely intend to continue learning throughout my entire life. More aptly, I am certain I will be taking on teaching roles, whether informally or not, as a physician. In the short term, a better understanding of how to teach will improve my efficacy as a tutor in my current job. Overall, a greater appreciation for one of the most fundamental aspects of our society, one vital to the propagation of our discoveries, is something intrinsically valuable in its own right.

STEP Signature Project: Working at the Genomics Shared Resource

  1. Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project
    1. For my STEP Signature Project, I assisted in a research project delving into the genetic mutations and sequences of patients with either Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) or Small Cell Lymphoma (SCL). My project looked into understanding how clonal diversities of patient B cells correlated with their transcriptomic profiles. These transcriptomic profiles were then used to understand how treatments are affecting the patient, if treatments are successful, and if there are patterns seen between patients. I conducted gene pathway analyses and gene-by-gene literature searches.
  1. What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
    1. This project gave me the confidence I needed to continue in my pursuits of the field and in STEM in general. Often times, women in STEM are overlooked or not respected as much as male counterparts and this has been something that worried me about my future. Additionally, the field is no joke as we know, and in order to be successful it takes A LOT of hard work and dedication to even get there. This project exposed me to the discipline and academia that comes into play with any sort of research, and this exposure showed me what this field was like. Working with a female mentor especially showed me just what I can do with my future, and it strengthened my desire to go further in order to prove that I am capable of being just as successful. This project solidified what I want to do in my future and helped me understand the necessary steps I will need to take to be successful.
  1. What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?
    1. I have a passion for helping others and this has been my driving force in working towards a medical and biomedical sciences degree. Although this project was not clinical practice, I had the chance to help those who are affected by these illnesses and was able to indirectly improve someone’s quality of life through the research I did. This stuck with me even after the completion of my project and it is rewarding to know that some of the work I conducted will go on to shape the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with CLL/SCL. This feeling was an overwhelming but good one, and I hope to have this feeling of accomplishment many more time in my life.
    2. I made amazing relationships with everyone at the GSR, including Dr. Yan. She was an amazing mentor who not only helped me during the project but helped steer me in the direction towards working in this field in the future. Her mentorship and willingness to teach quickly made me realize that this was, in fact, the field I wanted to pursue long-term. She often talked to me about what it means to be in STEM, and she opened my eyes to the countless opportunities that will come my way while I pursue the field.
    3. Additionally, I was exposed to many people at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, and these connections were important to me as I got to hear the individual testimonies of so many within the field. I got to witness firsthand where I may end up in twenty years, and this meant a lot to me as it can be hard to visualize yourself in that position.
  1. Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?
    1. Overall, this project solidified what I already knew and that is that I can and will be successful in the field if I put in the work needed to do so. I am thankful that I was able to work with STEP and the GSR to prove to myself that I am capable of what I want and that my passions will lead me to success. I am excited that I have gained countless mentors, including Dr. Yan, who I know will continue to support me in my journey, even if I am working on other things other than my work at the GSR. The opportunities I have had thanks to the STEP program have been numerous and beneficial. I have been able to garner valuable skills, confidence, and a sense of fulfillment with this project, and I am excited to use all of this in my future.