Hi MARCers!
I am checking in after an entire year of my
rollercoaster-ride of a life at UCLA…including my summer at Harvard Medical
School! This past summer, I spent 10-weeks in Boston, MA, participating in a summer program called the
Harvard Catalyst Summer Clinical and Translational Research Program (SCTRP).
Here’s me before my flight:
I must admit, I was EXCITED to get to Boston. Little did I
know of the challenges (though rewarding!) that were in store for me…
AT BOSTON, I worked under the guidance of a Harvard Faculty
mentor, Dr. Gabriel Kreiman, and my specific project investigated the
contribution of recurrent processing in the visual system to partial object
recognition.
As part of my project, I set out to recruit over 70
participants from the Harvard Medical School Area to complete various forms of
a simple object recognition experiment. The visual test, coded by my graduate
student mentor, Hanlin Tang (a physics major from Princeton University who
worked for the US Department of Defense), consisted of displaying 16 different
images that pertained to one of various categories. Subjects were asked to
categorize images that varied in their length of time displayed, object
wholeness (i.e. whole or partial), and whether they were followed by a backward
mask or not. The backward mask is a noisy image that follows the initial
presentation of an object stimulus. It is believed in theories of natural
vision that by following an image with a backward mask, one is able to disturb
recurrent feedback in the brain, thereby decreasing categorization performance.
After collecting data, I used MatLab, a computer prograaming
software, to perform data analysis on the response data gathered from our
wonderful subjects in order to address the following question:
Is top-down processing vital for categorization performance
of partial images irrespective of how features are positioned?
Can a model be developed to make predictions on which
features of an image a) drive categorization performance and b) require
top-down processing neural networks?
I won’t get
into too much detail here, but I must say, the data analysis was EXTREMELY
difficult at first. Before arriving to my lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, I
had little to no experience with computer science in general. My major is in
microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics. I was used to pipetting, and
cloning genes to make different parasitic cell lines . On the first day of my
new lab, I sat in front of a computer and feared that I would be incapable of
getting up-to-speed with the work in the lab in order to produce something
significant. However, I pushed forward, and I was reminded of the valuable
lessons in research methodology that I gained from the MARC Program. MARC
taught me how to ask the right questions, and how to structure the knowledge in
a way that made sense. I learned how to use Matlab! And I learned how to code!
Though, I surely was not alone in these efforts. Hanlin Tang was hugely instrumental
to my learning process. He was patient with all of my questions, and pushed me
to succeed in the lab. In addition, Candace Ross, a computer engineering major
from Howard University who was also interning for the summer through MIT,
provided me lessons in basic computer science that SAVED me during difficult
times in the analysis. I am truly grateful for everyone’s contribution from the
lab, including my PI and other lab members.
Here are snapshots of me, Hanlin, and two “computer-wiz’
highschoolers (center left and center right) interning for the summer as well:
Besides my lab, the Harvard
SCTRP Program also consisted of various presentations, tours, and outings with
my fellow peers from the program. I am
deeply grateful for Ms. Carol Martin, Program Manger, and Mrs. Rachel Milliron,
Program Coordinator, both of whom have opened doors for us to network and LEARN
from some of the top scientists and educators at Harvard into our doors. Because of them, I have acquired a new
meaning for the word professionalism, which was a way of life for us in the
Harvard SCTRP Program, and will continue to be a way of life for me now in my
academic career.
In addition, I met students
from all across the nation, including Jackson, Missippi; New Orleans,
Louisiana; Las Vegas, Nevada to name a few. One of the things I’m most grateful
for from this program is the awareness that I gained from living with students
who were of different cultures than me, and understanding that we each had a
unique approach to pursue a common goal for a career in academic medicine. Some
of these students are the most inspiring I have ever met. I’d like to give a
shoutout to one individual, Kia Byrd, a rising first-year Harvard Medical
Student, who has inspired me to reach for the stars! Below is a picture of all
of us in front of the Harvard Medical School sign!
While living for roughly 70
days in Boston, Massachusetts, I also visit a huge number of places at
Boston, and even New York during a weekend get-a-away with one of my peers. This
was my first time on the East Coast
of the country. During my stay, I visited Harvard University (including most of
Harvard Square), Cambridge, MIT, Boston Harbor, the North End, Little Italy,
Little Colombia (near the New Hampshire passway), and various hospital and
research sites around the Harvard Medical School Area. Dr. Dwayne Simmons even
treated me out to dinner, and gave me a more thorough tour of Harvard
University, including the freshmen dorms! The North End was one of my favorite
places due to sheer volume of historical sites. Here I visited Paul Revere’s
House, the graveyards of many war heroes and founding fathers, the Old North
Church, the Freedom Trail, Haymarket, the Constitution (oldest, warship still
floating on water) etc. (THE LIST GOES ON) At these locations, I learned of an
entirely new culture that was marked by historical reverence, intellectualness
and an air of prestige. I am proud to say that I have done the Duck Tour TWICE.
AND I have tried Boston lobster…with my mother even when she came to visit!
Look how delicious:
And yes! That’s right! My mother came to visit
me, and it was HER first time on the East Coast too. Check us out on the
carriage for proof!
In New York, I saw the Statue of
Liberty, the World Trade Center memorials, the renovated twin towersm the Bull
of Wall St., memorials for the Vietnam and Korean Wars, Central park, Time
Square, the Brookline Bridge, the skyline of New Jersey
The experience of travelling on the
East Coast this past summer is one I’ll never forgot. After returning to Los
Angeles, California, I found that my life has changed. I work harder than ever
before, which is reminiscient of the extended efforts I observed in the
professions of those I worked closely with at Boston Children’s Hospital and
Harvard Medical School. Also, I am more conscientious of the history that lies
behind the places that I visit now, including those in Los Angeles now! For all
of those reading this blog, and have yet to spend a summer outside of UCLA, I
would HIGHLY recommend it. The experience will change you in ways that are not
limited to what you learn in the lab. Your vision of the world, of the various
institutions you visit, of people, and of yourself will change in ways that you
will be glad they did!
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