I thrive in communities where people from different backgrounds view issues from diverse standpoints and encourage seeing through different lenses providing better answers to emerging questions. Participating in the Brackenridge Fellowship has provided me with that community where I had the opportunity to interact with people from other disciplines, work together and share ideas on complex problems that have a broader impact, and foster skills across many fields of study. 

The Brackenridge Fellowship has been the most incredible intellectual summer journey. It has allowed me to gain valuable perspectives on performing research and knowing other members within the cohort who are fueled by curiosity, immersing themselves in discovering and having the determination to promote better societies. The fellowship has allowed me to gain experience in techniques researchers use, to apply a dynamic, open-ended process to investigate questions. Working on my research project has unquestionably been the most rewarding component as it attempts to answer the most critical question plaguing future healthcare delivery. The workshop component of the fellowship was very beneficial as it has helped me gain new ideas, inspired me to explore further, and allowed me to build new relationships and connections with like-minded people. Additionally, the skills gained in the workshops would help me with my future research endeavors and a sense of awareness about future scholarship opportunities. My favorite session was on Conducting Interviews, where I had the chance to participate in interviews and understand asking and answering questions correctly.

The important aspect of my research work over the summer was understanding the social injustices and prejudices impacting the medical field and the different ways such issues are making their way into implementing Artificial Intelligence for healthcare. The research study indicated decades of social disparities-based medical practices cannot be eliminated in the near short term for addressing algorithmic bias. There is a need for systematic addressing of discrimination, such as the inclusion of better race and ethnicity data, a better understanding of healthcare AI algorithms, ongoing scrutiny of automated medical solutions, and increasing contribution of health and medical humanities to these emerging intersections. There is a need for inclusivity, openness, and trust in healthcare data collection, storage, and processing to enable equitable implementation of AI solutions and minimize biases in care delivery. 

The most valuable thing about the Brackenridge experience was the interdisciplinary nature of the fellowship and the opportunity for individuals to work on research projects that intersect various disciplines. Furthermore, it was incredible having interactions with other researchers during the weekly meetings as it enabled me to learn more about their research projects that included various fields of study. I also understood the effective ways to convey my research work and comprehend how others perceive the problem I am researching.

Now that the incredible summer journey of the Brackenridge Fellowship is over, I hope to employ the skills I have learned over the past two months to commit myself further to the world of scientific research and instill an investigative mindset and a passion and appreciation for medical research. 

Featured Image Source: https://thoughtcatalog.com/megan-minutillo/2019/07/make-self-reflection-a-part-of-your-self-love-practice/