My first class of the new semester starts on Tuesday and I have a strong desire to write at least one intriguing post about science-y things now, because it feels as though I've not written about that in awhile, and I might not get much of a chance once classes get rolling. It's strange that I don't actually write about science that much because it's a bigger part of my life than most other things I write about. Except my family. Nothing is a bigger part of my life than them.
I think I'll just give you a brief run-down of what I do at work/school because I realize most people don't exactly know what 'being in grad school' entails. And honestly, it can be something very different for each student. And then if I'm inspired to venture out to more topics after this, I will, but probably not in this post.
Currently I am rotating in the Neurosurgery clinic, under the direction of Dr. Matt Howard, at the University of Iowa hospital. In my grad program, students do 3 rotations in different labs in their first year to get a feel of research in different areas and then by summertime they usually choose a lab/are offered a real position in a lab. And that becomes "their lab." Well, for me it's a little different because, I have to be honest, I came to Iowa specifically to work in Dr. Michelle Voss's lab. She came from University of Illinois, which was my #1 grad school choice because I loved the work from the lab she was a part of. And her new lab here is perfect for me. It's the Health, Brain and Cognition Lab and we use a variety of techniques to delve into the effects of exercise on the brain and how we can use exercise to maximize our cognitive abilities. We are specifically interested in exercise's effects during the aging process into older adulthood, which is a huge issue right now as the proportion of adults over 65 is increasing at a very fast rate. Ultimately, we'd like to find the best ways to slow the aging of the brain and capitalize on the abilities of the brain throughout all of life.
So while the overarching theme of my "job" is to work in that lab, I am now doing a second rotation in the Neurosurgery clinic so I can learn the ropes there and understand how to interact with patients because one of the projects I'm working on is a collaborative effort between Michelle's lab and Neurosurgery and I will eventually be interacting with patients (in a research sense. I won't be treating them or anything). As a student in this lab, I attend meetings at 7 am Monday and Wednesday and then spend the day either learning new techniques from other people in the lab or reading and working on projects on my own. I have to read a lot of papers that explain techniques I don't yet know or that discuss new theories that we can incorporate into our research. I often have to compare across papers to get a broader idea of the research topic and compile the important pieces into arguments or outlines. I'm also currently learning how to analyze fMRI data (an imaging technique) and developing an iPad app that is a cognitive test we'll be able to use with patients. So that has been a great experience so far- I'm learning a lot about technology and I realize that sometimes it's my friend. And sometimes it's really not.
Basically all of this means that my time is split between the two labs, in a rather independent fashion (meaning go where I need to be when I need to be there and the rest of the time work on my own) which is awesome sometimes and overwhelming and uncomfortable other times. Freedom is great, but it can be frustrating because it requires me to actively plan my day so that I can get as much done as possible, without other people guiding me at all times. Honestly I think that's the aspect of my job that has helped me grow the most so far. Because as it turns out, in life, people don't tell you exactly what to do every second! Who would've guessed that?? (probably all of you because you've already discovered it and I'm the one at the back of the pack)
Anywho, my new classes will all start within the next two weeks so my days will be full of running around to classes, studying for said classes and working in lab when I have the chance. I think it's going to be a crazy and very exciting semester. Here's the list of classes I'll be taking:
Medical Neuroscience (it's a med school class...eeeeekkk!!)
Topics in Cognitive Neuroscience (focusing specifically on memory. Heck yes!)
Seminar: Cognitive Psychology (this class will teach me a few programs that we often use for designing experiments. So I'm psyched for that. Psyched. Get it? Yeah, I'm hilarious, just accept it ;)
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI, the functional imaging technique we use in our lab a lot, meaning this course will be directly applicable to my research. Again, heck yes)
And then a weekly seminar course for our program...during which I will have to, probably during spring, give a presentation on my rotation. I'll admit it, I'm a nerd....because I'm kind of really looking forward to giving that presentation :)
Now I really better get to bed or I might fall asleep during that 7 am meeting tomorrow!
At some point, I'll be writing a post that is basically a bunch of musings inspired by this great book I just finished called The Happiness Hypothesis. Now that was a feel-good popular psychology book if I've ever read one. And I have. I've read a lot of them.
Until then......tak for reading!
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