Francesca
About Me
Hi! My name is Francesca, and as you probably have already guessed, I’m a freshman at DHS. I have three younger brothers named Manny, Yaya, and Magnus. I am interested in a variety of subjects, including science, particularly biology , and even more specifically, biotech. My hobbies include debating, wrestling, judo, and reading.
The project I chose revolves around a technology used in the biotech field, known as CRISPR. I chose this project because I am interested in the applications of such a revolutionary technology. Hopefully, my project will also give me an opportunity to interact with important figures in this field, and create connections.
My project
My project is to create a video about the biotechnology CRISPR and both its benefits and consequences. I will also focus on its implications in many areas, including our environment, diseases, biohacking, etc. I am reaching out to important figures in the field now to interview them for my video. I have also been researching safe ways to use CRISPR myself.
In the end, I hope to be able to compile all the research, interviews, and video clips to provide an informational video that raise awareness about CRISPR.
I plan to begin with research, then contact important scientists, schedule and record interviews, schedule visits with labs, and finally, use all the footage to create my videos! (I will also create animations, use voicovers, music, etc. to create a smooth video) This is a pretty ambitious project, so I am pacing myself accordingly.
Mentor (s)
Rather than having a single mentor, I have networked to be able meet and interview multiple professionals.
Dr. Megan Hochstrasser of the Innovative Genomics Institute
Dr. Michael Gomez of the Innovate Genomics Institute
Rachel Li, co-founder and CSO of Berkely Yeast
Peter Dimoulas of Southern State Connectictue University
The Final presentation from Achiever's Night!! It was awesome to see this entire year come together.
Final reflection
If I were to reflect on this year, I would say there were ups and downs, but I thought it went fairly well. I thought my project was pretty successful and cleanly presented. However, I learned not to be overly ambitious as there were some things I had to cut out of my project. For example, my project changed from a video series to a long, combined video, to just a short clip of what CRISPR was. Another thing that changed was that I was unable to get more interviews so I had to stick with four. Also, due to Covid and time restrictions, I couldn’t physically go to a lab to perform CRISPR myself. Ultimately, I think I would change my prioritization and organization skills. I think setting a schedule of some sort may have helped me get more done. As you can probably assume from above, I did less than originally planned, but still got a decent amount done. For what the future looks like, I think I will be pursuing my interest in biology/science in other ways. For starters, I might be able to go to a lab over the summer and get some hands-on experience there. I might also begin looking into internships or camps and other opportunities to get experience, and see if it’s something I want to pursue.
PRP #5
Preparing for Achiever's Night!
PRP 5.pptxUPDATE
Thank you to Mr. Peter Dimoulas of Southern Connecticute State University for a fantastic interview!
PRP 4
Check out my next Progress Report Presentation! All interviews are DONE! Now I'm buckling down to get my video done.
Mini Goals: fourth update
Finalize Storyboard for first video
Create first video
Start planning second video
Contact a financial expert
Interview a financial expert
Reflection: I thought I did relatively well this cycle in terms of finishing all the interviews. My only issue is that I keep pracrastinating the video, and it's starting to pile up. I had to change it from a series of videos to one video. I think that I'm going to work on the video as I plan the storyboard so I don't end up with a huge storyboard and no video. I cut out the financial expert stuff, and just asked a question about it in my interview with Mr. Dimoulas. Video-wise, I think I need to work more.
Update!!!
I had another fantastic interview with Berkely reasearcher Rachel Li!
PRP 3
Check out my progress here!
Mini Goals: Third Update
1. Send out ALL emails and follow-up on all emails
2. Create necessary interview questions
3. Figure out why Zoom is not working
4. Begin planning out/making videos
a. Decide what topics to cover
b. Make a storyboard for videos
5. Research how to make animation/take live video footage
Reflection: I feel like I didn't get a lot done this time, especially due to midterms. I was only able to get one interview done, and didn't get to send out all the emails. I got zoom to work for my interview. I also havn't really dove into video making yet. I feel like I need to boil my focus into two priorities because I didn't get far with these ones, 1. to make videos and 2. to have another finance based interview.
Dr. Gomez during our interview!!!
UPDATE!!!
Dr. Michael Gomez of the Innovative Genomics Institute agreed to an interview!!!
His bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-alberto-gomez-7268b986
Progress Report Presentation #2
Check out my progress in this powerpoint. Already finished 2 interviews!!!
Mini Goals 2 & Reflection
To manage my time better, I might take the time to use a calendar.
Finalize who to send emails to
Research for a day to finalize financial aspect
Send out emails using template
ALSO contact innovative genomics to get a response
Begin creating interviews based on general sections
Begin planning out videos
Contact labs to go to
Contact the Genspace/Biotech Without Borders to learn about CRISPR
a. Ask parents because location is in NY
Reflection: I accomplished most of my goals. I need to follow-up on the emails I sent out because I only got one response about beer hops. I have researched the financial aspect for a day and have possible people to contact. I have already created and finished TWO interviews!! For the videos, I have planned to do crease course style videos. My parents have agreed to let me go the Genspace, a lab where ANYONE can physically sign-up for a CRISPR class. Along the way, I had some struggles with zoom and being unable to contact people. I was able to ask who I was interviewing to send me the link, and I will follow-up with emails in my third goals
Dr. Hochstrasser during our zoom meeting
*FYI this is a screenshot NOT a video*
UPDATe!!!
Dr. Hochstrasser of the Innovative Genomics Institute agreed to an interview!!!
Her Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-hochstrasser-151a8bb5
Progress Report Presentation 1
Check out this powerpoint for my progress so far!!
Mini-Goal #1 & Reflection
I actually started a little later than everyone else, so I accomplished MOST but not ALL of my mini-goals.
My First Set of Goals:
1. Research what CRISPR is
A. Research the implication of CRISPR
B. Learn about important figures in these fields
C. Create possible interview questions
2. Reach out to contact about interviews
A. Email these important figures to schedule an
interview
B. Fill out “ask a Scientist“ Form
Reflection: As mentioned before, I was able to get through a lot of these, but not all of them. I researched CRISPR, learned about important figures, and divided the nature scope of CRISPR’s implications into general categories to later organize my videos and interviews. I filled out the “ask a Scientist” form, which is just a general form run by Innovative Genomics to allow students to ask scientists general questions about CRISPR. I may need to follow up on that. I was unable to send out the emails to all the scientists yet, however I made a draft/template of the email. As a reflection, I believe I should have managed my time better because it is an ambitious project, and the sooner I send out emails, the sooner I can get responses.