Hi Everyone! This is my first post as a Laidlaw Scholar, and I’m really excited to share what I will be working on this summer.
This summer, I’m exploring the association between metal exposure and cognitive decline among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. This topic is deeply aligned with my interests across neuroscience, public health, and ethical leadership and advocacy, which makes me naturally very excited to work on this project.
Something I’m nervous about, but also excited to navigate, is ensuring that my research remains centered on those most impacted. In more scientific and data-driven work, it can become easy to forget the bigger picture: the people behind the data, for whom the research is actually supposed to help. I want to learn how to strike this balance: ensuring my work is robust and thorough while also remaining humane, ethical, and culturally competent. I want my research not just to exist in a vacuum, but for it to be relevant and useful in driving the creation of equitable interventions for communities that have been historically marginalized and excluded from public health programming.
Beyond the research itself, I’m really excited to be in New York City this summer: watching FIFA World Cup matches, riding rollercoasters at Coney Island, or trying new sweet treats.
Overall, I can’t wait to learn from everyone’s projects and perspectives while further immersing myself in the NYC and broader Laidlaw community!