Research Experience

Transcript

• 00:03Research, I think, is really
• 00:05at the heart of medicine.
• 00:07It is having the curiosity to
• 00:09wonder why things are the way they
• 00:11are and can we make them better?
• 00:15To me is really going into the unknown to
• 00:17ask a question about something
• 00:19that you can't easily find.
• 00:22What Yale teaches us is
• 00:23that research happens in so
• 00:26many different organic ways.
• 00:28Research is really defined
• 00:30as generating new knowledge.
• 00:34I view research as the way
• 00:37that I can leave my mark
• 00:39on medicine and humanity.
• 00:45There are so many research
• 00:48questions that you can ask
• 00:49outside of the bench research.
• 00:51There are clinical research as
• 00:53well as more like anthropology or
• 00:56qualitative and mixed methods.
• 00:58Research my project this year
• 01:00is we're taking like 50 to 100
• 01:02patients and trying to apply
• 01:04genomic analysis to them.
• 01:05I'm interested in understanding
• 01:08host microbe interactions,
• 01:09so bacteria interaction with the gut,
• 01:11but I'm also interested in education
• 01:13research specifically right now medical.
• 01:16Education and disparity. I've spent
• 01:18most of my time working with Doctor
• 01:20Track part in breast surgery research,
• 01:23so my research is really diverse.
• 01:25It kind of spans the spectrum.
• 01:28Everything from doing collaborative
• 01:30translational research to large databases.
• 01:34Looking at clinical research questions
• 01:36and population health. Students
• 01:38at Yale can do research with US,
• 01:40understanding consciousness from
• 01:42a neuroscientific perspective and
• 01:45how understanding consciousness.
• 01:47Can help patients with brain disorders
• 01:49here at Yale, they really
• 01:50encourage you to take any research
• 01:52interests that you have and like. Go
• 01:54forth with them.
• 01:59Yale creates a really wonderful
• 02:01and affirming environment
• 02:03for medical student research,
• 02:04and our philosophy is that we take medical
• 02:08students who are committed, creative,
• 02:10passionate and we give them the resources
• 02:13and the tools to be able to answer any
• 02:17question that they deem important.
• 02:19The mission of the Office of Student Research
• 02:23is really to enable students to understand
• 02:26the scientific method from the inside too.
• 02:29Be able to communicate their research
• 02:32findings for maximum impact and
• 02:34to really be able to analyze data
• 02:37critically for the rest of their lives.
• 02:40But it's important that people
• 02:43can develop their own educational
• 02:45path and for that reason,
• 02:47in addition to the curricular
• 02:49offerings such as statistics, study,
• 02:51design, rigor and reproducibility,
• 02:54doctor Chowdry and I offer weekly office
• 02:57hours in which we meet with students.
• 02:59We meet with mentors and we ensure that their
• 03:02research is developing along the right path.
• 03:06So it's a wonderful opportunity for
• 03:08the medical students and for the
• 03:11faculty to work together on research.
• 03:13The medical students at Yale often joined
• 03:15the lab during the first summer or even
• 03:18earlier during their medical curriculum,
• 03:20so I have been really blessed to be
• 03:22part of the STAR program here at Yale.
• 03:25This is a unique program.
• 03:26Start is the summer to
• 03:29advance research training.
• 03:30It's that summer right before
• 03:32students enter Yale Medicine,
• 03:34and it gives them an opportunity
• 03:36to partner with a mentor.
• 03:37And gain the tools they need
• 03:39to be successful in research.
• 03:41So within the four year curriculum
• 03:44and students have up to 16 months
• 03:47to conduct full time research,
• 03:49and that time is really a key ingredient.
• 03:53On top of that,
• 03:55students have the availability to do
• 03:58a tuition free 5th year, potentially.
• 04:01If students are interested,
• 04:02they have an entire year dedicated
• 04:04to have a research opportunity
• 04:05that will also be supervised
• 04:07not only by a primary mentor,
• 04:09but kind of a mentorship team as
• 04:10well with some additional structure.
• 04:12That really has probably a once in
• 04:14a lifetime opportunity for students
• 04:15to gain research before moving
• 04:16out to graduate medical education.
• 04:23I have had such a privilege working with
• 04:26students over my career here at Yale,
• 04:28and I find that having that research
• 04:31opportunity really cements that
• 04:33mentorship relationship so often.
• 04:35My students carry on their research
• 04:37projects not only throughout their
• 04:39time here at Yale, but even beyond.
• 04:41I think one thing that you know
• 04:44going into this whole program
• 04:45that was the most important to
• 04:47me was probably accessibility.
• 04:49Doctor Jack Pot is.
• 04:50Very responsive with her emails,
• 04:52both in terms of you know very small
• 04:54questions as well as you know larger
• 04:56level feedback on some of the research
• 04:58questions or ideas that I had and
• 05:00that linked with kind of her investment.
• 05:03And you know my my own personal growth.
• 05:06One of the things that I was very
• 05:08grateful for was that Doctor Shaw
• 05:09was kind of there in the beginning,
• 05:11but also throughout each step of the process.
• 05:14One specific example was when I actually
• 05:16went to some of the conferences to present.
• 05:18You know she would basically.
• 05:20Fly out to some of these places and you
• 05:24know we would talk briefly before then give
• 05:27my presentation and she would debrief,
• 05:30but it was only a couple hours but
• 05:31she was able to take the time out.
• 05:37It's usually in that year
• 05:39of research you really
• 05:41start with someone that is shy and somewhat
• 05:44insecure about how to ask the best questions,
• 05:48and then by the end of the year you
• 05:50see such a like exponential growth.
• 05:52She's really taught me to critically
• 05:54think about all kinds of research.
• 05:56I think before I was always like,
• 05:58oh, I don't understand that,
• 05:59so I'm just not going to touch it at all.
• 06:01But really building my confidence
• 06:03in how I communicate my research,
• 06:05but also how I can learn.
• 06:07And work off of other people's research
• 06:09has been really gratifying this year.
• 06:11You build like a mentor,
• 06:14mentee relationship which sometimes
• 06:16can go beyond just that year,
• 06:19but will be, you know,
• 06:20for the full career trajectory.
• 06:28I've been in hell Blumenfeld slab
• 06:29for my entire time here at Yale,
• 06:31studying primarily mechanisms of
• 06:34temporal lobe epilepsy. Students
• 06:37work on projects including brain imaging,
• 06:39including electrical recordings from
• 06:41the brain and studying behavior both
• 06:43in people as well as in animal models
• 06:46for coming to Yale.
• 06:47My experience with scientific research was
• 06:49kind of limited compared to some of my peers.
• 06:51Always a liberal arts major and undergrad.
• 06:54But I knew I wanted to do bench work like
• 06:57real hard signs when I came to medical
• 07:00school and Hal was totally accommodating.
• 07:03He he was, you know he was a great mentor.
• 07:06I feel like he's kind of a good
• 07:08balance between being, you know,
• 07:10very approachable and relaxed person.
• 07:12But also he's a very serious
• 07:14scientist and he kind of assigns you.
• 07:16I mean, he assigned to a real project.
• 07:18I feel like I'm working on,
• 07:20you know, novel science.
• 07:21I mean, it's a very flexible curriculum,
• 07:23so that in itself.
• 07:25Offers a lot of opportunity for students
• 07:27to kind of go out and find you know,
• 07:30a mentor or a research lab that
• 07:33they are very interested in and
• 07:34you can kind of start doing that
• 07:36kind of as soon as you get here.
• 07:45And I try to figure out where they
• 07:46are and then just try to figure
• 07:48out where that next step is,
• 07:49so that could be developing
• 07:51additional quantitative skills.
• 07:52Better tools to develop a research
• 07:54questions and how to write
• 07:55more compelling and emotionally
• 07:56resonant pieces as well.
• 07:58Looking with
• 07:58now and has been amazing and one of
• 08:01the more formative experiences so
• 08:03far in my Yale medical education.
• 08:06He's been also mentoring me to build the.
• 08:09Research skill sets now so that I'm
• 08:12prepared to when I start my own project,
• 08:14apply for grants, etc.
• 08:15That I'm prepared for that aspect.
• 08:18So part of begin is one.
• 08:19How can I foster that students
• 08:20growth and how can I expand
• 08:22their network as well? But
• 08:23I think that I've found both in my pH.
• 08:27D. Mentor and Darwin, who's my policy?
• 08:30Health disparity mentor that I can
• 08:33see that having running of a lab?
• 08:36My dream lab of having
• 08:38both bench and medical?
• 08:40Education disparity research is possible
• 08:43now collaborating with her kind of allowed
• 08:45me to have branches in my research
• 08:47never would have happened otherwise,
• 08:48so I think it's a great opportunity to
• 08:50both teach and also to learn from others
• 08:53and collaborate with great minds as well.
• 09:00Research is really a central part
• 09:02of the Yale system of medical
• 09:04education and it's integrated.
• 09:06Yale is one of the few medical
• 09:09schools in the country that
• 09:11requires a research thesis as one
• 09:13of its graduation requirements,
• 09:15and we've actually done
• 09:17so for over a century.
• 09:18Getting into the lab and or into
• 09:21the clinic and doing research.
• 09:24Helps them understand things
• 09:25in a whole different way.
• 09:27It's learning by doing
• 09:28the impact can be seen in the
• 09:31professional development of our students.
• 09:33Many of them choose to do
• 09:34a fifth year of research.
• 09:36Many of them are able to compete
• 09:38successfully for funding.
• 09:39And for you know,
• 09:41national awards in recognition of
• 09:43their work with the national average
• 09:46for graduating medical students.
• 09:48Is that about half of them will publish
• 09:50a peer reviewed publication at Yale.
• 09:53We're really proud that that figure is.
• 09:55Over 90% and research is about
• 09:58why are you doing the work and
• 10:00who is it going to help.
• 10:02We encourage our students to
• 10:03find what it is that they think
• 10:06that they can help be of benefit
• 10:08to medicine and pursue that and
• 10:10all the way from basic science
• 10:13to really community based work.
• 10:18What I enjoy the most is when they
• 10:20have like really inner motivation.
• 10:22So I think it's very important that
• 10:24they really spend the time and the
• 10:26thought going through the research
• 10:28materials and meeting up with as many
• 10:30as mentors that they would like.
• 10:32'cause if they pick the the thing that
• 10:34really gives them the inner motivation,
• 10:36I think it's where I see that
• 10:37they excel the most.
• 10:38The best advice
• 10:39is to just think about what you like
• 10:41and then go to the Student Research
• 10:43office and look online
• 10:44yourself. Everyone here at Yale
• 10:45is super excited about your
• 10:47ideas and would love to kind of.
• 10:49Work with you on them and collaborate.
• 10:50Everyone here is very collaborative and I
• 10:52think people want to work with other people.
• 10:53I want to work with excellent people so I
• 10:55think to be honest I think a great deal.
• 10:57Their faculty is available and I think
• 10:59just reaching out to other people and
• 11:01every time I've reached out to someone,
• 11:02everyone's been welcome to meet with me.
• 11:04Have a cup of coffee and just
• 11:05explore ideas with me. I think
• 11:06the mentor can really make a big
• 11:09difference in terms of how far
• 11:10you might actually bring it.
• 11:11I think here at Yale you'll really
• 11:14find an environment that is
• 11:15geared towards you and to making
• 11:17sure that you have the tools.
• 11:19You need for your future success.
• 11:22We really are invested in your future.