My Research

When I was first accepted into the Health Sciences Research Fellowship and was provided the opportunity to work full-time on my independent project this summer, I didn’t quite know what to expect.   I think the biggest expectation I had for this summer was that I would be able to dedicate most of my time to my own project. For me personally, that was far from the truth. I spent most of the summer assisting in general lab tasks and helping with other people’s projects. This is primarily because we struggle to consistently recruit participants who are at clinical high-risk for psychosis and our data collection process spans across a year for each participant. As a result, I won’t be able to conduct any statistical analyses or even have a full idea of my final sample size until December at the earliest.   And this is something people don’t tell you about research – especially research in the social sciences – and something I didn’t know when I first became a research assistant: things take time. When it comes to my independent project, most of my time is spent waiting for participants to be enrolled in the study and scheduled for their in-person lab visits. Then, I pray that those participants attend those lab visits and provide sufficient survey data for my project. If there is one thing I’ve learned this summer, it’s how to be patient.

My HSRF Experience

Another valuable skill I learned this summer is interdisciplinary communication. I found that the most valuable part of my experience in the HSRF is learning how to communicate my work across disciplines. Now, I’m much better at effectively translating my work to professionals outside my field, discussing my project’s impact with my peers, and even sharing a broad overview to my friends and family. Interdisciplinary communication is a skill that every researcher should have throughout their career because it helps others understand and in turn care about what you’re doing.

My Next Steps

Now that the fellowship is almost over, I plan to continue my independent project through the completion of the Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil), a research-oriented degree awarded by the Frederick Honors College. For anyone who has never heard of the BPhil, candidates conduct an independent research project, write an honors thesis to present their findings, and then defend this thesis in front of a panel of Pitt-affiliated professionals. It’s basically an undergraduate-level Master’s thesis or PhD dissertation. I’m excited to continue my project through the BPhil because it’ll give me a taste of what graduate school will be like and prepare me well for a future in academia.