Hello,
It has been four months since I became a Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholar here at the George Washington University. Since the start of my project I have come a long way. At this point I am able to conduct most of my project alone, having performed each step in my project many times.
Over the past several months, I was able to collect enough data to attend the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Conference, held in Atlanta in October. I submitted an abstract back in late July and was thrilled when I found out I was accepted in September. At the conference I was able to present my data on Long QT alongside other undergraduates, each with their own unique topic of study.
Leading up to the conference I had to design a poster for my presentation. I had not made a poster before, so I worked closely with my mentor Dr. Rokhaya Faye, a post-doctoral researcher in Dr. Efimov’s lab, to make an informative and appealing first poster. After a few weeks of work the results could not have been better. It felt great to be able to represent George Washington University along with the Clare Boothe Luce Foundation as I presented my work to students and professors at the conference.
The conference also provided many opportunities to network. I took advantage of the booths advertising different schools’ graduate programs. Since I am still on the fence about attending graduate school, this was a great way for me to find out my options moving forward. I did not realize how many different programs exist to fit one’s needs perfectly. I look forward to finding out more about the options I have in the coming year as I decide what path is best for me.
The BMES conference was an amazing experience that allowed me to get a taste of what research is like outside of a lab. As I continue to collect data I hope I will have the opportunity to attend more conferences and share my findings with other biomedical engineers.
Best,
Anastasia