Student Reflections
I’ve been lucky enough to have the chance to come back to the lab and perform benchwork for my project amidst the pandemic. The most important skill I’ve been able to work on this summer has been my own autonomy in the lab. Normally, the lab is packed with undergrads, grad students, and an awesome postgrad; lab members are always available to give both theoretical and practical advice. Read more from Ethan.
For the past year, I have been working towards my thesis titled “Spectral Richness and Comprehension of Spoken Discourse by Adult Users of Cochlear Implants versus Channel Vocoding”. The Bauer Foundation Grant this summer enabled me to work on my thesis full time, an opportunity to dive deep into the process and to ensure the completion of the study despite Covid-19 challenges. Read more from Shai.
Throughout the summer, one of the initial challenges that I had faced due to COVID-19 was that undergrad students were not allowed to conduct research on campus until the end of June. However, my mentor was able to construct a plan that focused on the analysis of data in order for me to conduct research remotely. Increased focus on the analysis of data, has allowed me to better understand my results as they relate to previous research done by other labs. Read more from Laura.
At the beginning of the summer when quarantine was still firmly in place and labs were shut down I began writing parts for a paper we are trying to get published this year and helped with literature searches as well as working on things for another review paper involving my current project. Read more from Paul.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered in the current COVID circumstances is the lab time constraints due to the shift work that has been implemented in my lab. Since June 22th, I have been working the afternoon shift from Monday to Friday in the lab, which is a limited time that can be difficult to manage. Read more from Luochen.
My research is on the “Impact of Mutations at CaMKII Threonine Sites on Drosophila melanogaster: Short-term Memory and Sleep Behavior.” CaMKII is suggested to play a huge role in both short-term and long-term memory and sleep behavior. Read more from Jessica.
COVID-19 has presented everyone with challenges that we never anticipated facing. Being a researcher, and a new one at that, has led to many challenges but also significant growth and improvement in adaptability skills. Firstly, research could not look the same. Read more from Leah.
The biggest challenge of maintaining safety in a lab atmosphere during a global pandemic is the fear of losing the collaborative atmosphere of academic research. Being able to chat with your lab mates, ask random questions, double check calculations, and learn more about the theory of your experiment without having to leave the lab bench is a privilege... Read more from Anna Kate.
The main challenge I faced was reevaluating my research project in order to make it possible to do remotely. My research was originally focused around neuropsychology testing on adults over the age of 65. When the pandemic hit, I knew that I was not going to be able to conduct the research I had originally started out to do. Read more from Alex.
My research was mainly based on computer coding and mathematical conjectures; therefore, compared to other studies that need lab settings, mine is much easier to control. However, there are specific challenges and changes I had during this summer. Read more from Christina.