Immersing myself into the world of research over this past summer has been extremely formative. I have built upon old skills and developed new ones, forged strong professional relationships, and developed my voice in scientific writing, among other things.
Although the time commitment to this lab was quite daunting, I believe I acclimated well to my responsibilities. By the second week of the program, I had finished my training and became involved in lab work. At this point, I realized my purpose in the lab, and my day-to-day schedule started to make me feel empowered and that I was contributing something meaningful to my community. Being able to live this reality made me feel connected to a key value of mine: giving back to the community that gave to me.
I am proud of my accomplishments this summer. In June, I worked with Dr. Patterson to complete IRB paperwork, which allowed me to grasp the logistics behind research. By creating many of our recruitment materials (including the flyers, exempt study brief protocol, recruitment strategy, informed consent, and screener), I honed my ability to write in a scientific format and gained valuable insight into research ethics and regulatory compliance.
In July, Dr. Patterson and I began recruitment for our focus groups. We joined the UM Health Research Repository, posted flyers in local libraries and within the community, and reached out to local dementia-related organizations. While we are still in the process of recruiting participants, our participant pool thus far aligns with nationally representative data on gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Screening participants has been an incredible experience, and I am looking forward to what these sessions will teach us about caregiving for older adults with dementia.
I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with Dr. Patterson during the upcoming school year. We plan to work together to write a report for publication, as well as lead out the second stage of the study as per our grant. I feel lucky to be able to contribute to this project and to further develop my skills as a researcher and analytical thinker.