Preparation for Research Showcase

This week in ISM, I spent most of my time making sure that both my portfolio and display board were absolutely perfect and ready for Research Showcase. As I was updating my portfolio, I realized just how much I have accomplished and learned already in this program. It feels like just a few weeks ago that I was stressing out about giving a 2-3 minute Introduction Speech, or starting to contact biomedical engineers for research interviews. I can't believe that I'm already halfway through the year; time truly has flown by. For my display board, I'm really proud of how the final version turned out, because it represents who I am and accurately paints a picture of my growth through ISM so far. Another aspect of this week was preparing for Research Showcase, which is in less than a week! I handed out all my invitations for this event by Tuesday, and I'm extremely excited to introduce my mentor to my teacher and my classmates. In class, we had mock trials, in which we discussed the information on our boards and practiced answering some commonly asked questions. Then, we took turns describing a challenging concept in our field in less than 30 seconds. Both of these drills gave me a better idea of what to expect at the actual event, so at this point, I feel well-prepared for Showcase and know I can successfully inform others of my field and the research I have done so far. This upcoming week, I will read about some current events within biomedical engineering and create a checklist for the materials I need for Research Showcase.

Osseointegration

Based off all the research I have done about the different sub-fields of biomedical engineering and the information I learned through my research interviews with professionals, I have decided to focus on the topic of prosthetics this year. Prosthetics really fascinate me, because they essentially serve the purpose of replacing a lost limb and returning functionality to the user, so that these individuals can go out and live normal lives once again. Therefore, this week I found an article discussing the introduction of a relatively new technique for attaching an artificial limb to the patient's leg. This procedure is called osseointegration, and it involves directly implanting a metal rod into the bone at the site of the amputation, which can then be attached to the rest of the prosthesis.

To read my analysis, click here.

My Display Board

This week in ISM, I finished my display board and went on my first mentor visit. Over Thanksgiving Break, I had purchased all my supplies for the board, such as the letters, glitter ribbon, and papers to layer with and add more color to the board. Then, at the beginning of this week, I started printing off the information I wanted to include on the board, cutting the papers to the correct sizes, and placing everything on the board. At first, I had a really hard time trying to decide the best font sizes to use for the papers and also what research to include, so that I could convey what I had learned so far, but not confuse everyone who looked at my board. I think the hardest part of the process was just getting everything to look the way I had pictured it would look in my head. I'm also really glad that we had drawn out a draft of the display board in class several weeks ago, because it gave me a basic outline and design to refer back to as I worked. Another important aspect of this week was that I went on my first mentor visit at UT Southwestern! I wasn't exactly sure where to start in this whole mentorship process, but we covered a lot of general information in this meeting and began discussing several long-term projects. For example, my mentor gave me an excellent resource to get the necessary information for my original work and a great website I could use to find articles for research assessments. I can't wait to continue in this mentorship and see what else I can learn over the course of this year. This upcoming week, I will write my last interview assessment, hand-out invitations for Research Showcase, and fully update my portfolio.

My Mentor!

By last week, I had already gone on six research interviews so I started to think about who I wanted to ask for a mentorship. One of my interviews had been absolutely incredible and definitely stood out above the rest, because I felt like I could gain a lot of knowledge from that professional. He also specializes in prosthetics, which is exactly the field I see myself pursuing in the future, because it allows me to directly help other individuals and make the difference I want to make in their lives. So, last Friday I sent out a mentorship request email, and it was honestly one of the scariest things I've ever had to do before. I really wanted to have this professional as my mentor, and I spent the entire weekend constantly checking my email, hoping to have a reply in my inbox. I knew that it usually takes about a week to hear back about a mentorship, so I wasn't necessarily worried when I still hadn't heard back from him on Monday. Then on Wednesday morning, I checked my email in the middle of my ISM class and saw that I had an email notification. I was shaking as I opened the email, but when I saw the words "I would be honored to be your mentor..." I was so excited and couldn't believe it! I can't wait to start my mentorship experience, and I look forward to everything that's still to come in this amazing journey! Over Thanksgiving Break, I want to finish my display board, write interview assessments for all my research interviews, and complete another research assessment so that I'll be ahead of the due dates calendar.

My Speech

This week in ISM, I had my Research Speech and my sixth research interview with a professional. First, I finished up my powerpoint, which would be the visual during my speech, and then I started to practice going through all my slides while timing myself. I didn't really want to simply memorize the speech, because I'll never become a better public speaker that way and there's only so many minutes worth of speaking that a person can memorize. Since this speech needed to be between ten and twelve minutes long, I just wrote myself an introduction and conclusion to memorize, and the rest I based off my slides and the audience's interest as I was talking. The day of my speech, I wasn't nervous at all, surprisingly. I had practiced giving my speech several times the night before, so I knew exactly what I wanted to highlight and had a general idea of all the information I included on the slides. As I was talking, I felt much more confident than I had when I gave my first speech, I was talking at a normal speed, and I didn't stutter or use many filler words at all, so I felt really proud of all the progress I have made so far already in ISM. The other major component of the week was my research interview with an instructor at UT Southwestern. The interview went really well, and I learned so much information about prosthetics and the life of a biomedical engineer. This upcoming week, I will finish another Interview Assessment and start working on my display board in preparation for Research Showcase!

Research Speeches

This week in ISM, I focused on updating my portfolio and preparing for my upcoming research speech. I printed off all my research assessments, interview assessments, and weekly reports, because I hadn't gotten the opportunity to do so for a few weeks now. At this point in my ISM journey, I'm really starting to feel the stress of balancing all my AP classes with the rigor of ISM itself. Especially this past week, I had several tests and quizzes, so it's becoming extremely difficult to put forth my best effort in everything I'm currently involved in. I'm learning just how important it is to manage my time wisely, keep organized, and stay ahead of all of my assignments and homework. Another aspect of this week was working on my research speech, which I'm actually presenting early next week. Because this speech must be between 10 to 12 minutes and I've never given a speech that long, I've been a little nervous about how it will go. I'm planning on organizing my speech into two components: one about the independent research I've done and another about the research interviews with professionals that I've had so far. Because most of my classmates don't know much about the field of biomedical engineering, I hope to share all the knowledge I've gained so far in this program and continue to improve my public speaking skills. This upcoming week, I want to practice my research speech, write another interview assessment, and begin my original work.

Research Interview #4

My fourth research interview was with Dr. Robert Eberhart, who is a Professor Emeritus at UT Southwestern. Dr. Eberhart spends most of his time advising advanced students working on their Master's Thesis and junior faculty members. 

To read my analysis, click here.

Research Interview #3

I had my third research interview with Dr. Shashank Sirsi, who teaches at the University of Texas at Dallas and specializes in image-guided drug delivery for neuroblastoma.

To read my analysis, click here.

Research Interview #2

My second research interview was with Mr. David Wilson, who is part of the teaching faculty at UT Southwestern. Mr. Wilson spends most of his time in the clinic, assessing patients with acute trauma, mainly for lower extremity prosthetics.

To read my analysis, click here.

Bionics

As I delve deeper into the field of biomedical engineering, I still find myself most interested and fascinated by prosthetics. So this week, I chose to focus my research on a subset of prosthetics: bionics. I selected an article highlighting the progress that has been made so far within the field of bionics, and the development of the new i-limb, which is more functional, compact, and longer-lasting than previous models.

To read my analysis, click here.

Targeted Muscle Reinnervation

Through a research interview, I learned the name of a prominent and successful biomedical engineer, Todd Kuiken. As I researched Mr. Kuiken online, I saw that he had given a TED Talk on a prosthetic arms that "feels," which was built using the principles of Targeted Muscle Reinnervation. Therefore, this week I found an article discussing what Targeted Muscle Reinnervation is and how it works.

To read my analysis, click here.

Original Work Proposal

We started off this week in ISM by discussing and sharing original work ideas, because our original work proposal is due next week. In small groups, we looked at some of the examples from last year, so that we could get a general idea about what was expected of us. Then, we took turns sharing any ideas we had currently about our own original work. At first, I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do, because biomedical engineering is such a diverse field that covers several different topics. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that I wanted to research something to do with prosthetics, possibly the various designs and do a case study on them. When it was my turn to share, my group helped me strengthen my idea and gave me great advice about how I could make the research even more beneficial by targeting a specific group. After combining the suggested ideas with my own, I finally came up with the perfect original work idea. For my original work, I'm going to highlight what's really important about a prosthetic for the patients, and I'll then try to determine what helps the users get the most satisfaction from such a device. I will show a focus group, which will be individuals who use prosthetics at a clinic or hospital, different prosthetics designs and ask them to rate each one for several categories. These categories will include looks, comfort, daily use, design, and functionality. From these ratings, I will analyze all the data to see what the optimal prosthetics design would be, so the patients' needs are met and the aspects they value the most are present in the device. This upcoming week, I will complete my original work proposal, write interview assessments, and prepare for my research speech, which is in a week!

Display Board Plans

We started off this week in ISM by doing some team bonding exercises. The first was a drawing game, in which we took turns writing the name of a movie and drawing a picture for the name of another person's movie, and so on, and at the end we saw how close or far off we were from the original name. I was really shocked by just how difficult it can be to understand what another person is trying to convey through an image, which tied back nicely to the display boards we are currently planning out. Even though I know exactly what my pictures represent and why I chose to organize aspects of the board the way I did, others may not see things the same way. As a result, I have to make sure that the ideas in my display board are easily discernible and don't convey multiple meanings. The second team exercise was solving a riddle, which involved critical thinking and communication skills so I actually enjoyed it a lot more than the first. Because we had several assessments due on Friday, I spent the majority of this week writing my Research and Interview Assessments, and also planning out my display board. I struggled the most with just coming up with a basic layout and design for the display board, since I'm not very artsy but still want the board to be perfect. I have a general idea of what all I want to include on the board itself, but choosing colors, fonts, and images has been harder than I thought it would be. This next week, I want to write another Research Assessment, finalize my display board plan, and schedule my last few interviews with professionals so I can start thinking about choosing a mentor!

Moving Faster

At this point in ISM, things are starting to move much faster than they have been previously. Just this week alone, we had an Interview Assessment, Research Assessment, and Topic Proposal due, and I'm finally realizing just how valuable time management can be for this class. We were given a lot of time to work on our assignments in class, so I continued contacting more professionals and updated both my blog and portfolio to include all my latest research. Also, I had two more research interviews this week, and they went really well! The first was with an instructor at UT Southwestern and the second was with a professor at UT Dallas, and through these interviews, I was able to really focus my questions on the specific aspects of biomedical engineering that I'm interested in, which are prosthetics and tissue engineering. At UT Southwestern, I was given a tour of the labs and saw different components within the process of creating prosthetics and orthotics, and I was amazed by just how complex and multi-stepped this process actually is! There are so many types of foot attachments, which are chosen depending on the patient and his activity level/needs, and the tour opened my eyes to the working environment and tasks of a prosthetics engineer. At UT Dallas, I learned the importance of undergraduate research in helping narrow down your specific topic of interest within the broader field of biomedical engineering, so I'm definitely going to take part in this valuable experience as early as I possibly can! This upcoming week, I will write another Research Assessment and Interview Assessment and brainstorm possible ideas for my Original Work.

Research Interview #1

I had my first research interview with Professor Heather Hayenga, who teaches at the University of Texas at Dallas and specializes in cardiovascular imagery and research.

To read my analysis, click here.

Mechanical Engineering

Because I want to first get a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, I decided to focus my research on how the fields of biomedical and mechanical engineering overlap. This week, I read an article discussing the development of a device that will greatly reduce the risks involved with aortic valve replacement surgery by blocking debris from reaching the brain.

To read my analysis, click here.

Business Symposium

This week in ISM, we were preparing one another for Business Symposium through mock interviews and networking practice. I was both nervous and excited for Symposium, because I would finally get an opportunity to implement all that I had learned so far and interact with lots of other ISM students from different schools. During class, I researched current events within the field of biomedical engineering and practiced answering some tougher questions that I might be asked. Finally at the end of the week, it was the day of Business Symposium, and I felt ready to put my knowledge and progress within ISM to the test. As I talked to other kids and professionals during the networking session in the morning, I started to realize just how much I had learned already about my field of study. After the initial networking, we had our break-out sessions, and my group was scheduled to hear from the guest speaker, Jennifer M. Scott, about the importance of keywords first. I learned that keywords should be used mainly in the top 20% of a resume, like in a headline or summary, in order to set me apart from others and optimize the chances of a prospective employer hiring me. Next, we had two ISM alumni speakers come and talk to us about their overall experiences within the program, and finally we had three interviews with professionals. All three of my interviews went really well, and I felt confident and prepared for such a setting. I was given lots of advice about improving my resume and making the most of my college education by finding internships at engineering companies, and Business Symposium as a whole was definitely an eye-opening and invaluable experience. This upcoming week, I'm going on two more research interviews, and I will create a topic proposal highlighting my interest in biomedical engineering.

My First Interview

This week in ISM was particularly exciting for me because I went on my first Research Interview! At first, I didn't really know what to expect from the interview, and I was worried that the conversation would be awkward and filled with a lot of silence between questions. However, the professor that I had the interview with was actually super sweet and informative, and she answered my questions in-depth and elaborated whenever I didn't fully understand what she was saying. For example, as she talked about her research into cardiovascular health problems, I learned so much about how arteries can get blocked and how computer software built using experimental results can help determine the predicted future severity of the issue if surgery isn't performed. Also, the professor gave me some career-specific tips that will definitely benefit me later on, such as finding an internship at a medical device company as a college student if I'm interested at all in an industry job. Another tip was to do research in a lab as an undergraduate student, so that I become more accustomed to lab equipment and procedures that I could implement into my work in the future. Overall, I felt that my first Research Interview really opened my eyes to the incredible number of opportunities available for a biomedical engineer and allowed me to start building a solid foundation of knowledge for my chosen field of study this year. This next week, I want to complete another Research Assessment, write an Interview Assessment, and be completely prepared for Business Symposium, which is on October 9th!

Research Interviews

Unlike any other so far, this week in ISM was entirely focused on individual work time and a self-driven schedule. Instead of being told what to do in class or what we had to accomplish before the end of the day, we were given the freedom to work on whatever we thought was most important or that we needed to get done. For me, my priorities were updating my blog, sending out more contact emails, and working on my ISM portfolio. Even though we had submitted our first two research assessments already, I still felt like revising them both a little more before they were polished enough to add onto my blog. Along with updating my research assessments, I also added an "About ISM" page to my blog, because many people don't quite understand what exactly this program is or what we do in this class. Furthermore, I spent the majority of my time this week sending out more emails to professionals about research interviews. I actually got my first two replies and scheduled my first research interview, which will be in a week! I'm really excited, and I can't wait to learn new information about biomedical engineering from the perspective of an individual currently working in the field. In preparation for my upcoming interview, I am creating more field-specific questions to ask and printing out final copies of my resume on resume paper. Lastly, I have started putting my portfolio together with everything I have accomplished so far and the resources I have collected up to this point, like my contact list and research assessments. This upcoming week, I'm going to contact more professionals, try to schedule another interview, and prepare for Business Symposium, which is in less than 2 weeks!

Tissue Engineering

Another subset of the field of biomedical engineering is tissue engineering, which focuses on re-growing tissues and fully functional organs that can be implanted into patients. This week, I read an article discussing the challenges involved in the process of building bioengineered hearts. 

To read my analysis, click here. 

Biomechanics and Prosthetics

Since biomedical engineering is such a diverse field, it encompasses several smaller topics as well. One of the smaller topics that I'm most interested in is prosthetics, so this week I found an article that discussed a recent advancement in the design of exoskeletons for paraplegics.

To read my analysis, click here.

Reaching Out to Professionals

This week in ISM gave me my first taste of the "Independent" aspect of the program. We started the week off by conducting mock interviews with one another, like we had done before, but this time we used our resumes. As I was being interviewed by a classmate, she questioned my choices of coursework, asked why I had or hadn't joined certain extracurricular activities, and tried her best to catch me off-guard and make me even more nervous. It was difficult to answer her questions initially, but as we kept practicing with other people, I was better able to explain my decisions and help the interviewer understand my reasoning for my topic of study, biomedical engineering, and my extracurriculars and academic coursework. I stopped over-thinking and started looking for patterns in the questions instead, which helped me have a general idea of what to say and greatly reduced my use of filler words. Another major aspect of this week was that I finally started contacting the professionals I had found in DFW to conduct research interviews with them. I sent out emails to two biomedical engineering professors, and it was so scary to hit the "send" button! I kept re-reading the email drafts, searching for typos or grammar errors, but eventually I felt confident enough to send them out. I'm really anxious and excited to hear back from them and hopefully schedule my first interviews, and I'm planning on contacting a few more over the course of next week. This upcoming week, I want to complete my second Research Assessment and start putting my ISM portfolio together with all that I have accomplished so far.

Starting My Research

More than anything else, this week was spent practicing and researching. By practice, I mean holding mock interviews with fellow classmates, with one being the interviewer and the other the interviewee. Even though the setting felt awkward and not wholly realistic to how our research interviews with professionals would go, it gave me a chance to focus on my hand gestures, eye contact, and responses to some typical questions I might be asked at Business Symposium. As we went through the process and progressed to actually calling "professionals," our backs turned to one another so we couldn't see facial expressions, just like in a real phone call, I realized just how difficult it is to concisely introduce yourself, describe ISM, and try to schedule an interview all at the same time. However, I can already see the difference in my composure and level of comfort in such a setting after just one practice session, and I hope to soon feel prepared enough to start making phone calls and sending out emails to the biomedical engineers on my contact list. Another important aspect of this week was beginning my research into the field of biomedical engineering. Initially, I didn't really know where to start, but I soon found this website that had a bunch of different articles discussing technological breakthroughs in this field. This coming week, I plan on finishing my first Research Assessment over the articles I found particularly interesting and getting my resume completely ready for interviews.

The Beginning

These first two weeks in ISM were challenging and full of firsts for me. Walking into class on the first day of school, I felt a rush of mixed emotions. I was scared, nervous, slightly overwhelmed, but, most of all, I was excited and curious. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and I soon realized that many of my classmates felt the exact same way. In ISM, unlike most of my other classes, we started working from the very first day. We gave our first speech, which was an introduction speech, the second day of class, and I was absolutely terrified of stuttering or forgetting everything that I wanted to say about myself. However, I felt much more comfortable up at the podium than I had feared, mainly because my classmates were actually listening and paying attention to what I was saying. For the next few days, I learned how to shake hands properly, dress professionally, and write a strong resume that concisely described who I was and all that I had done so far. I discovered that attire plays a very big role in how others perceive me, and that even minute details like color, accessories, and style really do matter and influence first impressions. So far, every class has been enlightening, teaching me something new and helping me gain more confidence in my speaking skills. I have already accomplished so much in just two weeks; I have chosen my quote for the year, researched basic information about biomedical engineering, written my mission statement, and completed a rough draft of my resume. This next week, I want to finish setting up my blog and add more contacts to my list of biomedical engineers.