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 involved me taking part in research about the electromagnetic analysis of symmetric synapses on the dendritic shaft and the myelination status of segmented axons. The main activities of the research project entailed analyzing electromagnetic data of nearly five hundred brain slices taken from a mouse and mapping where the inhibitory synapses were located. We must first correctly identify what type of synapse they are, and once we do so, we color in the axon in all of the slices that it shows up in which will allow us to eventually get a 3d model of it.

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.

From this experience, I learned a lot about the type of research we do in the lab and the sheer amount of detail it can go into. Before working on the project, I had a lot of prerequisite knowledge about neuroanatomy that I needed to acquire. This took much longer than expected as things got more complicated the deeper, I dove into it. It allowed me to understand just how long it can take to be an expert in this type of field. The number of concepts you have to learn and then piece all together is no easy task in neuroanatomy and it allowed me to have greater respect for the people who are experts in this such as my PI. I also learned that with certain concepts, you must be very dedicated and motivated to learn because it’s not something that can be grasped otherwise. It allowed to me further see why there aren’t many experts in this field, the amount of time and dedication required to become one isn’t something most people want.

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.

In our lab, we had weekly meetings throughout the semester. These meetings often involved talking about progress made in different projects and sometimes the beginning of new projects. I was very shocked to hear about how detailed some of the projects can get. I was often amazed at how detailed some of these projects can be and from this I learned that it’s only possible to get to this level by being passionate about the subject and staying dedicated to getting it done. I often forget the implications this type of research can have, but by remembering them, I was able to work harder to increase my level of understanding of the subject to reach the end goal.

While working on the project, I thought about implications more. The data we are collecting can aid the progress of numerous other projects we conduct in our lab. This can have an exponential effect and can help more projects or ideas than I could have imagined. This showed me the importance of the work I was doing. By identifying the number of inhibitory synapses in the data, we are not only able to understand the ratio of excitatory and inhibitory better, but also why it’s so specific. This can allow us to have a better understanding of the overall system in the brain. It can also give us a better idea of why the overall structure looks the way it looks. This level of detail can only be accomplished with the use of electromagnetic imaging techniques as these structures are very small.

Often, I struggled to make significant progress in the project. During the semester I was tackling many difficult courses that require a lot of studying and I volunteered and worked during the weekends. Once the semester ended, it didn’t get easier. I decided to work full-time while also continuing to volunteer and come to the lab every week. It left me very not a lot of free time for myself and I sometimes it felt almost impossible to find an inhibitory synapse and I felt burnt out. But I would try to remind myself that it wasn’t ever meant to be an easy task. We expected to have much less inhibitory synapses compared to excitatory, now it’s our job to find out where those are located and from there, we can see how it all goes together. And from that we can improve our understanding of inhibitory neurons and why the brain is programmed to them this way. This project allowed me to appreciate all the hard work people put into neuroscience research. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and a lot of knowledge is required to get this work done. This has transformed my way of seeing how research is done and what it takes to get significant data.

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.

This change is valuable because it has taught me that certain things you need to do in life require a lot of hard work and dedication to get them done. I plan on going to medical school in the near future, I often hear about how much of a strenuous task it is to get through it and then become a doctor, but because of this experience, I can now appreciate how difficult it is to become an expert is a certain field. Many things began to weigh down on me during the semester and the summer. Everything from work, family, and academics, it all started to pile up and I felt like it was never going to end. I learned that the only way out is to push through. I also learned to never forget the end goal of whatever you’re doing, because you always have a reason for why you started it in the first place, and for me, that was often enough motivation to keep me going and continue to work hard.

My STEP signature project involved participating as an undergraduate research assistant at the Attitudes and Persuasion Lab, and involved the investigation of attitudes in the hiring process. Our initial topic developed throughout this process and became even more meaningful to me as we shifted our topic to explore how hiring personnels’ attitudes and beliefs about ex-offenders and race influence their hiring decisions. Throughout this process, I performed an extensive literature review, created the materials, defined the measurements, designed a Qualtrics survey, and assisted with the IRB.  

When I initially decided to pursue my STEP signature project, I was most excited about the opportunity it would give me to become familiar with the research process and participate in a project from beginning to end. Throughout my project, I was able to fulfill this and so much more. One thing that changed about my understanding of myself throughout this process was that I have the ability to be a part of something meaningful that can affect people in a positive way. The research I conducted will be used to help change the public perceptions that lead to prejudiced hiring decisions. By determining what attitudes and beliefs prevent ex-offenders from being hired in the first place, we can develop interventions to reverse these. I have always been passionate about helping others and this showed me that I can help foster change within our world. In addition, one thing that changed about my view of the world throughout this project is that change is still needed and there are things we can be doing to help. Just because something does not affect you personally does not mean that the issue does not exist. 

One event that led to a change in my understanding of myself and my view on the world was the literature review I completed. Before we could start our research, I needed to complete a review of other studies to see what previous research on this topic had found. It was difficult to see how many people struggle with employment and the opportunity for an interview purely because of their ex-offender status and race on a resume. This has always been something I was aware of, but I was not aware of the prevalence within society. I also discovered that there have been attempts to improve ex-offenders’ chances through the implementation of different education, training, and counseling programs, but all of these have put the burden on the ex-offender. Through our research I learned that there are things I can do to help change these attitudes and beliefs and it starts with the results of our study. 

One relationship that contributed to the change I experienced throughout this project was the one with my graduate supervisor Sydney Williams. She was extremely helpful throughout this entire process. At the beginning we spent a lot of time discussing what we wanted to gain from this study and ended up tweaking our research question to something more meaningful to the both of us. She explained that once we discovered what beliefs and attitudes contributed to these prejudiced hiring decisions we could work on finding a way to change these. Additionally, she gave me the opportunity to work on most of the project alone before checking over things. This not only gave me experience, but confidence that I can create change through my research. 

Overall, this entire process has contributed to the change I experienced. I have always been committed to my studies and found passion in what I learn. However, I have struggled to get involved in other meaningful work while at college that relates to my major. There are so many clubs and organizations that it can be difficult to decide what you want to do. This pushed me into the research process and showed me that I can apply what I have learned within my classes to real world issues. I have what it takes to be a part of something that is bigger than myself.

The change that I experienced throughout this project will be valuable for the rest of my life and has already proven to be. After getting involved in this research I know that this is something I am passionate about. I have recently been hired as a research assistant at the Pediatric and Rehabilitation Laboratory and am looking forward to the help I can provide there. Furthermore, this transformation encourages me to seek out meaningful opportunities in all aspects of my life. I want to make a positive change in the world and I know that I have the ability to do this after my project. 

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 project, I started working on an undergraduate research project in the Wester Lab. This project started the summer of 2023 and formally ended November 15th (though I am still actively working/researching in the lab). This was an individual research project where I investigated microcircuits within the rodent hippocampus. Then, I used the STEP funding to travel to Washington, DC to present my research at the annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) research conference. 

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.

This project, overall, helped me feel confident in my abilities as a researcher and independent thinker. Planning and performing research is very difficult, and prior to this project, I did not really understand what it was like. My only experience with research was through courses where we wrote research papers or planned out academic arguments; I had never once contributed or worked towards novel contributions to a given field. Through STEP, however, I got to work very closely with my research mentor, Jason Wester, to work my way through the phases of independent research. This process greatly increased my academic confidence and my perception of myself as an independent researcher. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel imposter syndrome every once and a while, but this project helped force me to overcome my anxieties and insecurities to produce novel research (+ a poster). This STEP project helped solidify to me that I want to continue to perform novel research to push forward the frontiers of the field of neuroscience. STEP has allowed me the freedom to fully engross myself in research for a few semesters and then present the fruits of my labor to the other researchers in the field. 

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.

There were a few main aspects of research that I had to work through for this project, and each one of them helped me grow as a person and as a researcher. The first was planning and time management. Thinking about research is very exciting and one of the coolest things (at least for me). It made me want to dive right in and start doing cool experiments. However, thinking about research and planning out experiments is a far different story. At the start of my project, I had to sift through dozens of research papers to understand the foundations of the research I was to do. This meant finding papers, reading them, summarizing them, and meeting with Jason and the other members of my lab to discuss them. This was very different from any coursework I had done previously. This was a difficult process for me, as I was balancing all of this with my other classwork. So, I needed to learn to manage my time more efficiently; not only in the lab, but also with my other classwork and commitments. During this time, I met extensively with my research mentor to figure out when I should read papers by, when I should start performing experiments, and when/what I should write. During this time, I started using paper notebooks/planners extensively which helped me keep up with all that I had to do. I’m not going to lie and say it was 100% a piece of cake, and there were definitely times where I felt overwhelmed and slightly burned out. However, my mentor kept reassuring me, and It overall helped me to learn my limits and how much work I could reasonably do in a given time.

The next aspect of myself STEP helped me further develop was perseverance and pushing through failures. Something I did not fully realize before starting my research was that it involved failure…. Alot of it… Far more than any T.V show, movie, or book described. Throughout the summer, when I would collect data for my poster, there would be weeks where the experiments I performed yielded little, if any, usable data. At first, it was an utterly defeating feeling. Just knowing I was putting in so much work and yet getting no usable data out of it was incredibly upsetting. At first, it was hard to come in some days knowing there was a chance I would achieve nothing. But, after meeting with Jason and the other members of my lab, they helped me to see even the days I “failed” as a learning experience. Each mistake, each failure was a chance for me to learn and further my understanding and ensure that future days would yield even better results. Beyond just research, I think failing with grace and “failing fast”, as my lab members say, has been an invaluable skill for me to learn. In life, if we can’t accept failure, we can never move on and grow as people or scientists. STEP has allowed me a space where I could fail and learn under the guidance of people whom I trust.

Finally, STEP allowed me the opportunity to practice presenting my research and explaining science in front of a large audience. On the final day of SfN on November 15th, 2023, I got a five hour block of time to present my research poster. Throughout that time, groups of neuroscientists would come and ask me to walk through all of the data on my poster. Before this, I only had two experiences describing my research in public and felt rather unconfident about it. However, through this STEP project, the sheer amount of people who came to my poster forced me to get comfortable in consciously and correctly explaining the work that I did. Also, the questions that everyone asked helped me to think about my project in new ways which I had not before. This is a vitally important skill to have moving forward, especially because I want to go into research and a PhD program where talking about research and scientific ideas is the basis of any meaningful progress. 

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

This project has been immensely helpful as I transition to the end of my undergraduate academic career and towards a PhD program in Neuroscience. When I first came to OSU, I took the foundational science and GE courses that would set me up for future academic success. However, I had not yet gotten into research. This STEP project allowed me the opportunity to meaningfully work towards research and incorporate it into my undergraduate academics. This project will make me a competitive applicant to almost any graduate school as research experience is the most important thing graduate schools look at these days. Furthermore, it will act as the basis of my honors thesis which will help supplement my academics even further. Overall, STEP has been one of the best experiences I have had at OSU, and I feel much more secure in my future because of it. I would highly recommend the program to anyone else, and feel like nothing else at OSU offers the same level of freedom in enriching your undergraduate education.

My Step signature project was research, and I prepared a research poster that was presented at the Autumn Research Festival at The Ohio State University. Data was collected and evaluated for Physiological Responses in the Disappointment Task as Predictors of Children’s Social Withdrawal. 

Throughout my STEP Signature Project, I have come to gain a new understanding of myself. This project was completed during my third year of college, and it was one of my most difficult semesters yet. Juggling 30 hours of work and 19 credits of classes per week, this project was completed in a very hectic time. This period taught me about the workload I could handle and that anything is possible through focus and dedication. This project has also taught me how important teamwork is. Going into this project, I was an individual who did everything on his own and took a large amount of accountability. This project allowed me to work with a graduate student and my research professor to fully understand the data. Interpreting data can be challenging, but collaboration made this project much easier, and this was a significant realization. 

My view of the world also changed through interpreting this data. Before the STEP project, my main role in the research team was preparing the data for other students to interpret. After this STEP signature project, I gained a better understanding of the data, allowing me to see a different view of the world of pediatrics. Social withdrawal is the inability to interact with others in a social environment, and the effect of parenting in determining these symptoms is significant. Starting good parenting at the infant level is crucial and can determine physiological and psychological responses. 

Interpreting and analyzing the data were the main drivers in seeing these changes and transformations in myself and my view of the world. Firstly, this involved a long and arduous task of analyzing the data. Analyzing the data meant going through over 200 videos, each 2 hours long, to determine the minute markers of particular tasks. Some of the data were edited due to sensor interference, resulting in the editing of over 200 electrocardiograms. The next step involved splitting these individual electrocardiograms into 15, 30, and 60-second intervals or segments and exporting the data for each of these segments for all the files. From there, the data was interpreted, and conclusions were drawn about which data from the disappointment task was significant. This process took a significant amount of time and added to an already busy schedule. 

Another key aspect is the teamwork that lightened my workload and enabled a better interpretation of the data. Teamwork allowed me to realize that I didn’t need to do all of the work and that I shouldn’t be taking on the stress of learning to interpret the data when there are peers who know how to do that. Also, when working with a team, there is a lower chance of making mistakes. My team members have already made mistakes, and by working with them, they can teach me how to avoid these mistakes. Teamwork is valuable, and this is how I found that I can rely on and trust my team members. 

Throughout this process, I analyzed numerous videos of the tasks being completed. These videos consisted of mother-child interactions and individual questionnaires on parenting styles being completed. Watching these experiences take place has led to a change in my view of the world. Parenting styles and child emotion regulation were observed as having a direct relationship just visually through watching these videos. These videos inspired me to delve deeper, and one of the most intense emotional responses was observed. A toy was awarded to the child and later taken away, saying it was promised for another child, and the child was left alone in the room for a minute. This specific instance showcased child emotion regulation, and the differences between this emotion regulation in subjects visually were tied to the responses of the questionnaires earlier in the video from mom and child. 

This change is highly significant and valuable to my life, as my profession involves extensive work, teamwork, and future parenting. I am aspiring to become a dentist, and this is not an easy task. In dental school, I will have to manage practical dental skills and common dental coursework, which is a lot to handle. In the future, I plan to open my dental practice, which will involve the managing aspect of the practice and managing this with a family and life. Owning a practice means working with other members of my team, and this experience will allow me to rely on my team members and trust them in their ability. I will also need to work with patients and use the effects of parenting and teaching on children to apply good strategies to teach my young patients about life to promote good emotion regulation. I do plan on having kids in the future, and this will help my significant other and me in practicing good parenting techniques.