Internships and Outreach
NIH Step-up internship
PROJECT DESCRIPTION - WHAT DID I RESEARCH?
My mentor was Dr. Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, I worked in her lab of Medical and Clinical Psychology helping with two research studies (POMC-A and BAE). Both of the studies focused on preventing and studying obesity in the adolescent population.
Within the POMC-A study I researched parental perception of their dependent's weight and how that impact their psychological functioning and other weight-related behaviors. I used surveys and other questionnaires within the protocol to conduct various statistical tests to find t-test and p-test values. The results painted the picture that the more overweight the child is perceived to be, even if they are not actually overweight by BMI standards, the more the parent will try to change the dependent's weight-related behaviors.
A few months ago, I found out that the abstract I constructed would be published in Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice.
Perry, Jillian, Higgins Neyland, M. K., Burke, N. L., Pine, A., Quattlebaum, M., & Tanofsky-Kraff, M. (In press). Parents’ Perception of Overweight in Relation to Child Mood and Disordered Eating,” Special Issue, NIDDK STEP-UP of the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice.
PRESENTING RESEARCH
I presented my research at the NIH Research Symposium to a panel of scientists and my peers that also conducted research.
women in engineering
Freshmen Year I attended a Women in Engineering Conference at Mitre Corporation. This conference focused on the technological thinking and building up the confidence of women to enter the STEM field. We cycled through various stations that taught us how to be an empowered individual within our desired STEM field.
women in homeland security
A few students and I toured the US Coast Guard with the intent of understanding how impactful STEM can be in our United States’ Armed Forces. Not only did we tour the facilities, but received a first hand account from various ranked officers of how STEM knowledge is involved in their day-to-day work.
physics olympics
Last year I attended the Central Maryland Physics Olympics Event: a competition where Maryland schools compete around areas of Physics and STEM to exemplify our skills and knowledge.
smithsonian entomology field study
Through the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, a few teens went out into the woods and creeks in the Chesapeake Bay area. The intent was to catalog insects in the Mid-Atlantic region and return them to the lab for further studying and analyzing.
