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The Interview:

Karen: How long have you been working on your research project?

Alisha: I actually had no experience prior to the SOAR summer program that I just completed. I knew I needed to do some research before graduating, but I had nowhere to start. So when I applied to SOAR and I got in, I was so relieved that finally, I could get a start somewhere because they ask for experience everywhere you apply but they don't tell you where to get it.

Even though this summer was my first time in the lab, it was a really great experience and a great lab. Everyone in the Yin lab was very, very nice and patient with me.  And it was a brand new world, because it's nothing like the classroom. You actually have to do things on your own and apply your knowledge. And if you don't know an answer, you have to use your resources, and learn how to figure things out on your own.

What did you work on?

My lab focuses on cardiovascular disease, using computational fluid dynamics modeling. My specific project was on the Effects of Thrombosis on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms. We used 3D modeling software and constructed a model from CT images of unruptured AAA — figuring out the hotspots, where the highest pressures are on the wall that could cause a rupture. We looked into blood clots and how that affects the blood flow through the abdominal aorta, and if that has any change to the pressure on the wall. And our model showed something along the way that was pretty interesting, which is how as the thrombus thickness increased, the stress on the walls decreased while the stress on the thrombus peaked and began to plateau. This means that the thrombus is acting like a shock absorber and distributing the stress somewhere else on the wall. This begs the question of whether the thrombus is a good or bad thing for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.

Getting placed in this lab through the SOAR program was a  perfect fit for me because I wasn’t as interested in wet lab work.  I'm more into biomechanics, and doing computational work using 3D software. I knew from my classes that Ioved that type of work already, because I had some background knowledge about that.

Are  you planning to continue/follow up on this project?

Yes,  luckily, my professor is going to keep me in her lab. So, hopefully, I'll get some more results this semester.

That's great. Do you feel more confident about your involvement in research now that you've been through the summer program?

Yes, one hundred percent!  Before I joined the lab, I wasn’t sure about how this was going to go. But I do like structure. So when I started doing research over the summer, I found that it was well matched to how I think. It’s self-organized.  You have to say to yourself, “Oh, today, I'm going do this, this and this. …” And I like that about research. I can set my own goals, and decide what I want to do that day and take it from there.

What was the most surprising aspect of doing the researchfor you?

Having to spend so much time doing background reading, and looking into other people's research was something I didn’t expect or anticipate. But you have to really understand what other people have done, and answer questions that they didn't answer, and that requires doing a lot of preliminary background reading.

What was most beneficial about that aspect of the program for you?

The workshops that we had on Wednesdays with the other programs were really beneficial. I had never even considered the possibility of graduate school before, because I had no idea what it involved. I just didn’t think that it was for me. But then, after I went to the workshops and learned more about it and heard from students who were in graduate programs, and listened to the directors of graduate programs, I thought: “Oh, maybe I should do graduate school.” So the program definitely helped give me a perspective about what graduate school actually is like, and kind of corrected a lot of the misinterpretations that I had previously about graduate study.

I also was very lucky to work with my graduate student mentor.  She was great! Later down the line we found out that we were both in the Volleyball club at Stony Brook. We connected through that. And I also worked closely with one of the other REU students, Julia, who was there for the summer in my lab. We worked together well, and I made friendships through both the lab and through the program.

If you were talking to other students, what advice would you give them about research?

I would definitely tell them to think about what their interests are. If they see themselves in the lab,  definitely go for it! If they are uncertain, I’d say to still give it a try. I was one of those people who was very unsure about whether to do research. My mom encouraged me to give it a try, and advised that it wouldn’t hurt to be able to put on my resume and not continue with it if I didn't like it.  So I definitely recommend doing it.

I think that having a mentor that matches your personality or complements your personality is also a really good thing. When I met with Dr. Yin, right away I knew that I was welcomed into the lab.  Being comfortable with your PI is definitely an important factor.

It sounds like you had very positive experiences with your lab.

Yes, both by graduate student mentor and my PI were very supportive and patient. The thing that I liked about Marina, my graduate student mentor,  was that she didn't just  give me the answer. She just pointed me in the right direction and suggested things. She'd say, “What if you did this instead of that?”  I felt like we learned together through talking about the research, and discussing the issues I was having with COMSOL. And Dr. Yin would pop in at least once a week or more, and ask me how I was doing, and I learned how to use that time wisely. I had to go over the points that I needed to ask her, and to be concise and straightforward about discussing what issues I was having, so that we could troubleshoot problems.

What was your experience of having to prepare a poster and communicate your results, which you did at the conclusion of the program?

Surprisingly, this was my best experience with presenting! Usually I'm a little nervous. I can't even eat the day before. But with this poster presentation, I was excited … I was asking people to look at my poster. Tell me what's wrong with it, so I can fix it. I practiced it, and I liked it. I think that the reason why I was so excited to present it was because I knew what I was talking about. I knew I was confident in my results, and what I did because I had seen through every step of the project myself.

So it was more  like: ”Let me show you what I did. I'm just talking here. I'm not even presenting. I'm just talking to you as a person…. Listen, this is what I did the whole summer, and it's so cool.” And a lot of people came up to me asking me to explain the project to them like they were 4 years old, and I had so much fun with it, because I liked  talking one on one with people and explaining the project, and having them ask me questions. I like when people ask me questions because I have to really think about my own research and how to answer them. So I love that.

Some people even bring up their own personal health concerns related to what we study. And that hit home for me, too, because my grandparents also have the condition. So I guess that's another reason why I felt very comfortable presenting the project because I was familiar with the medical terms of what we were working on, even before I started the project.

What is the value of doing research in the summer?

You have more concentrated time in the summer because you're not thinking about other classes and other assignments. So  I think you have a lot more of deep thinking time. You can also think of it as your job: "This is what I came to do today. This is what I have to do." And you can spend all your thinking power on just research and not being worried about your classes.

Would you have been able to do research if you didn't receive like the housing support and the stipend, that you received through participating in the SOAR program?

I don't think I would have been able to. Housing was a big factor in my deciding to apply to the SOAR summer program.

I also think that the reason why I didn't do research earlier on was because I was still new to the whole field, so I didn't want to join a lab and not be able to provide anything to it. I’d be useless, essentially. But after having done some more coursework, I felt that I was prepared for the SOAR program opportunity when I applied. I thought, "Okay, now I feel ready. I feel like I can use the skills that I have to contribute to  the lab." So that's why sophomore year, I decided to jump into research, and I’m very glad that I did!