Ability to Make Critical Judgments About Biomedical Research Projects

Ability to make critical judgments about biomedical research projects.

For the past eight years, I have been involved with biomedical research projects in academia and at the National Institutes of Health. As a Visiting Fellow at the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, I have conducted numerous experiments in neurobiology, which requires a strict understanding of procedural accuracy and the ability to apply crucial judgment in all phases of experimentation. For example in 2000, I conducted experiments in which I demonstrated firing pattern recognition in the temporal lobes. At several key junctures, I was able to collaborate with senior scientists, and use my critical thinking and analysis skills to accurately proceed with the scientific procedures. The results of this research were presented at a seminar, “Differential Decoding of Temporal Patterns in Fruit Flies,” at the University of Pittsburgh. I was also awarded the Dr. Jonas Salk Excellence in Research Prize based on my findings.

In addition, in 1997, I conducted a variety of experiments as a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University, Department of Microbiology. During my tenure, I developed enzyme assays to study the cross liking of parasites on fruit flies. My critical judgment regarding the most appropriate research methods was applied from extensive scientific reviews and through discussions with senior faculty members. The results of this study were published in an article entitled