My past experience with psychotherapy has motivated me to pursue a career devoted to improving the process of therapy through digital therapeutics development and greatly influenced my involvement beyond the classroom. I seek experiences that improve my knowledge of the technical requirements of digital therapeutics across a variety of technology platforms.
In Spring 2018, I placed second in Howard Community College’s Rocket Marketing Pitch Competition. 15. This process involved developing a business plan and pitching to a panel of active entrepreneurs. This experience strengthened my oral communication and networking skills. I hope that it will prepare me for my future goal of acting as an entrepreneur in the DTx field, where I will have to pitch to investors for funding. I followed up this experience by winning a pitch competition with the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, further strengthening my pitching and networking skills. 16.
Since Summer of 2018, I have worked for an online educational startup, Ortus Academy. 14 In my role I am responsible for the creation of interactive content for an online course in financial literacy as well as the facilitation of in-class experiential learning. This experience has shown me the value of an entrepreneurial mindset, both for the creation of a product and as a general frame for thought. My time at Ortus Academy introduced me to user experience design and production level software development on a web-based platform.
In Spring 2020, I will be interning with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center (IRC).17 The IRC has an ongoing interdisciplinary project investigating the difference in human behavior of users in a virtual dining hall as compared to a real dining hall. This project is led by psychology professor, Carissa Cheah, and works with assistant professor of information systems, Jiaqui Gong. Through this experience, I will develop skills in both the development of virtual reality software applications and experimental psychology research.
Also in the Spring 2020 semester, I will be applying for an entrepreneurship undergraduate research award (URA). While I have not currently identified a specific research proposal or mentor, I intend to pursue a project directly relating to digital therapeutics. I aim to develop a project for a mobile interface to diversify my experience with the various technology platforms that digital therapeutics are developed for.
For summer 2020, I plan on applying to University of Southern California’s Institute of Creative Technologies’ summer research internship program.18 This internship pairs students with faculty mentors working on projects related to innovative technology. One example is Skip Rizzos’ virtual reality system to treat PTSD.7 Through this experience, I would develop more expertise in innovative software development and have an applied experience in the field of digital therapeutics. My experience with the IRC and my ongoing URA project will make me a compelling candidate for the internship as I will have direct experience in VR development and general research skills.
Although much of my future experiences focus on VR, I will also broaden my skill set through self-study in other software platforms such as iOS and web using courses through websites like Coursera.19 I also plan to stay involved with HackUMBC, where I experience working with new technologies and rapid software prototyping. In addition, I am applying to the New York-based Impact Labs’ Fellowship in January 2021.20 This fellowship is a two-week-long intensive exposure to social entrepreneurship achieved through advanced technologies. Fellows are paired into small groups to develop a prototype project and network with New York-based tech companies. This would greatly benefit my entrepreneurial skills and expose me to new technologies that will further prepare me to be a compelling candidate for working at a DTx startup in the future.
Finally, I am actively contacting DTx startups to network and create potential internship opportunities. I have already reached out to both Limbix and Big Health, some of the leading DTx companies. I have also contacted the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) directly for networking information and internship opportunities. While the DTA does not host any conferences themselves, they actively publish other DTx gatherings and I plan to attend any nearby industry conferences, such as DTx East.21