It is absolutely unbelievable that my internship is already over. These past six weeks have been filled with absolutely amazing people, opportunities, and experiences and I would not change a thing. As for my last week, our main goal was to cram as much in as possible so could get the chance to experience as much as I could. Monday started out with another run through of our upcoming experiment, in which I was once again the practice participant. Once again we just went through the script and completely finalized everything. We also got the chance to collect some data so we could do some more practice processing before the real thing. After our run through, we went back upstairs so we could all get some practice, as it has been some time since anyone has worked with the software. Other than that it was a pretty relaxed day of prep for the week ahead. Tuesday was fairly similar to Monday as we spent most of the day processing as Mahima and I were getting familiar with the program and starting to get the hang of it.
Our first experiment!
Our first experiment!
Wednesday was where things started to get very exciting as we began our first real experiment. But first, we started off the day with a journal club where we got to here more about Neuromuscular scoliosis and the problems with the current instruments used to promote recovery. After a quick bite to eat we headed down to the lab to set up and calibrate for our experiment. We had two back to back experiments scheduled so we had to work fast to get the kids through the process as quick as possible. This was especially challenging as the set up is extensive with four people placing almost 70 markers on the participant. Not only that but each marker has to be placed in a very specific place to assure consistency in future experiments. Once all the markers are placed we have to do a second round of calibration for Xsens which is especially hard for children as they have to remain very still. But once we were done with all that it is pretty much smooth sailing as we go through all the movements. The only thing that proved to be a bit of a challenge was getting the kids acclimated to the treadmill as it is usually fairly foreign to them. This also becomes a potential risk as we can only have one person spotting the child (so they do not block any of the cameras) and our treadmill is skinnier and far more elevated than most. Luckily we got through without much of a struggle and we got some good data! This project has been something we have all worked very hard on and I have luckily been a large part of so it was important for me to be there for the start of real data collecting. My team was kind enough to make sure I had the opportunity to be there for the first experiment and made sure that I would have the chance to start processing real data.
Waterfront Wednesday (music festival)
Thursday was a great day as we got to look at this first real data we collected for our experiment and start processing, which may not sound exciting but it really is. Other than that my team took me out to a lunch as it would be the last day we would all be together so we got some amazing food and took some cheesy photos. After that, we headed back and continued processing. Friday was fairly similar as we mainly just worked on processing and converting files. Not to mention I spent some time packing up my desk and saying goodbye.
Saying goodbye to my coworkers 🙁
Saying goodbye to Noah
These past six weeks have given me more than I could have ever imagined. Not only did I get to learn about an extremely interesting field, I also got to get a first-hand experience on how it is to work in research and I am pleased to say this is what I want to do for my career. I found that research was not only fun and interesting but also something that I can get whole-heartedly invested in and I would have to say I can’t imagine finding another field with the same level of learning opportunities and freedom to fully apply yourself to questions that you are determined to answer. I was also lucky to get to meet some phenomenal people that only got me more excited about the work I was doing. I huge thank you to Sarah Holbrooke and my amazing team (Laura, Nick, Mahima, and Doctor B) for making this experience one I will never forget!
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