Doing research in the DIY Diagnostics stream as a freshman has been a great overall experience. I was thrown into fast-paced real research projects that had already been in progress, lead by top researchers at UT. It was always really cool to know that instead of sitting in intro biology or chemistry, I was learning how to research by actually performing groundbreaking research in the DIY Diagnostic stream. The research that is currently being done in the DIY Diagnostic stream is very cutting edge; we are always looking for diagnostic solutions to the world’s current issues. We have worked on diagnosing the Zika virus, concussions in athletes, skin cancer, water quality, and many other things.
I joined DIY Diagnostics because I enjoy diagnosis. The diagnostic process is like a mystery. You have to find a problem, learn all about it, and come up with a scientifically proven method to diagnose that problem. I personally am very interested in emergency medicine and I want to become an Emergency Room physician, which requires a lot of diagnostic skills and instruments. With this in mind I chose DIY Diagnostics so that I could get a better idea of the diagnostic process and how diagnostic instruments are developed. I am most excited to work on creating a concussion diagnostic app for athletes who might not have a professional medical team standing by at all times. I used to play ice hockey, a very heavy-contact sport, and I am also an Emergency Medical Technician, so creating an app that can be used in sports as a first aid tool attracted my attention. I began working on the concussion app the summer after my freshman year during my summer fellowship, and I plan to make this app my research project for the fall.
Although the stream sort of puts you into ongoing research, Dr. Riedel and the mentors gradually bring you into the stream. We started out by learning how to write lab reports, use the equipment, and code simple apps. After we were comfortable doing everything, we were allowed more freedom when completing our assignments. This not only prepared us for future research after freshman year, but it also made us better, more self-reliant students.
The DIY Diagnostic stream has taught me much more than research. The stream requires a lot of time-management and organization, and there is little to no room for procrastination. Making sure to log my lab hours, update my lab book, and keep up with lab and application assignments forced me to be a better student, and those qualities have stuck with me and have helped me.
This stream has really made me feel like I am a researcher in the modern science world, especially because of all of the cutting edge projects currently being researched in DIY Diagnostics. The stream really allows students to feel as if they are making a difference, while completing a course in their required degree plan. Because DIY Diagnostics can take place of a lower division lab credit, students are more likely to take this stream. Students who never took part in the Freshman Research Initiative have to, instead of taking part in a stream, take the regular lower division labs. These labs, unlike DIY Diagnostics, do not perform research. Being able to be in a real research environment allows students to grow as intellects along with the research. To know that you’re actually making a difference in one of your classes as an undergraduate is very satisfying.