About Shreya Karnik
I am an undergraduate student at Columbia University majoring Political Science and History. My interests lie in education reform, carceral reform and alternative justice methods.
I am an undergraduate student at Columbia University majoring Political Science and History. My interests lie in education reform, carceral reform and alternative justice methods.
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Recent Comments
In reviewing transcripts of previous interviews conducted by my Justice Lab colleagues, I noticed they included interviewees from the more conservative southern part of the United States as well as interviewees from more democratic states. I was surprised to see that even individuals with conservative ideals and closer ties to southern culture in which criminal law standards are generally significantly stricter, talked about the issues they noticed in the criminal justice system through their own work. Specifically, wanting to try more restorative methods of justice rather than punitive or wanting to put a stop against harsher punishments such as the death penalty. Before studying these interviews, I held assumptions about law enforcement and lawyers working in specific environments that they would have a harder time changing their opinions and going against the ideology propagated by their surroundings.
Through the Justice Lab, I was able to attend conferences on Criminal Justice and also have the opportunity to talk to previously incarcerated individuals to learn about their personal experience with the justice system. I found these resources particularly useful because it enabled us to gather quantitative data from real people needed to truly understand the shortcomings of the system.
Hanna this is so interesting, I'm glad that you were able to interview formerly incarcerated individuals. This anecdotal evidence is incredibly helpful and I'm interested to read about your work later!
With my project I have struggled with narrowing my focus on specific scholars and pieces of evidence. I want to conduct a literature review so it is important to me to make sure that my sources are able to hold steady in conversation with one another. The scope of my project has thus narrowed down when considering political theory aspects that inform my writing. I found JSTOR and CLIO to be particularly helpful when looking for sources for my writing. I also have been able to find statistical data on rates of incarceration from the government.
I am humbled to report that my work is already making a positive impact on the organization and treatment of patients at the NewYork-Presbyterian Congenital Heart Center Program for Pediatric Cardiomyopathy, Heart Failure, and Transplantation. Updated genetic testing has been initiated for several patients, allowing for more personalized treatment. Additionally, communication among physicians has improved regarding treatment plans, thanks to discrepancies I identified in patient charts. As an undergraduate student, I did not anticipate the extent of the influence I could have so quickly.
My initial goal was to write a research paper upon completing my data collection, focusing on the treatment of children with cardiomyopathy. Dr. Teresa Lee, my mentor, has graciously offered to assist me in the writing process in the months following my stay in New York. The paper will aim to analyze which demographics of children are most commonly restricted from sports and whether these restrictions align with the updated 2024 AHA Athletic Guidelines.
The relationships I have built while working at NewYork-Presbyterian have opened numerous opportunities for me to continue this project and related work in the coming years. I am grateful to the Laidlaw Network for providing me with the chance to form these valuable connections.
I believe the work I am doing is vital not only for the children currently being treated within the program but also for the future of the community. While I am not directly testing the children, my efforts encourage physicians to tailor care to each child's needs, enabling them to lead more normal and comfortable lives. Evidence shows that children thrive when given the opportunity to participate in athletics or be part of a team. Personalized treatment is essential for these children to experience normalcy outside the hospital, fostering their development into successful young adults who can significantly contribute to the community. As someone who grew up receiving medical care for Pulmonary Valve Stenosis and benefited from the opportunity to play competitive sports, I am driven to help as many children in similar situations have childhoods defined not by their diagnosis but by their potential and growth as individuals.
So excited to see how your research turns out Tatum! I'm interested in your clinical approach to your research and what results the different demographics of children will yield.
For my research this summer I hope to be able to complete a literature review regarding my topic. This research is not something I imagine I will continue working on next summer but I can certainly see how ideas I am exploring now will be useful to take note of for next summer. Currently I am working on drafting my paper and gathering sources.
I believe my research has significance because ti allows for an exploration into the complicated relationships that exist between patriotism, veterans and incarceration. Since veterans are often incarcerated for violent crimes and for drug possession I think exploring why this happens and what the links are between violence while serving and violence towards communities is compelling.
At this time in my project, there are not many ethical issues as I am mainly working with cell lines and DNA samples, but I anticipate as our project shifts from in vitro to in vivo studies involving mice models, I will have to grapple with the ethics of animal testing. However, from what I've read and experienced in previous labs I've worked in, animal testing is a very rigorous process that always seeks to minimize the suffering and distress of the animal subjects.
As we are trying to discern the exact effects that kinase inhibitors have on cancer cell physiology and viability, we are reading through a lot of the current literature on the subject to understand how different researchers have approached quantifying their observations. We are incorporating multiple procedures and methods as such in order to ensure that our results are thorough and informative.
Sankrith this research sounds so interesting, I think that animal testing always has complicated ethics involved. I like though that you are aware of this and are looking to minimize distress. There is certainly a net positive result that will come out of your research making it important to still understanding such implications.
At my current position in the Justice Lab I have not found myself examining many ethical issues. I am mostly editing transcripts and recordings. However, now I am also researching historical facts that show Pennsylvania's tie to slavery and racism in the criminal justice system. When examining such historical narratives, I think it is important that I consider proper sources and remember that this history carries a great legacy that impacts modern day communities.
In my personal research project for the Justice Lab, I am considering different lens' and how to explore certain topics while keeping a clear narrative. Due to this, I have considered many alternate viewpoints and am currently needing to decide how to address these. Will I want to take a more people focused approach and hone in on the sociology aspects of my research or will I want to dive into politics and configure my research around alternative questions?
I really appreciate how Laidlaw features a cohort with extremely diverse interests and projects, as I now understand how intersectional all of our research really is. When tackling global challenges that may seem scientific at its core –like climate change – it seems equally important to study the human impact of the issue in order to foster empathy and a sense of urgency to address it.
Even in my own research, which aims to measure the radiation in the food of the Pacific Islands, I have had to not only work on purely scientific skills, but also understand the societal impacts of nuclear testing. Recently, my research group went to the Kiribati embassy last week to seek approval and advice on conducting in-person research. Here, I found that my research experience fundamentally intersects with politics, history, and social sciences; as my research will be conducted in an entirely new place next summer alongside a different community, my research can definitely be benefited by the historical knowledge of nuclear testing and its societal impacts.
Kate I'm quite interested in the intersections you've presented in your project. Personally, I know how important research on nuclear testing is to the field of politics and I think this is just another way that interdisciplinary approaches to research can allow for greater understanding of each other's work. I'm excited to read your abstract at the end of the summer, good luck!
My research is concentrated in the social sciences at the Justice Lab, my personal project at the Lab considers themes of violence and patriotism in incarceration. While we are both focused on issues in the carceral system, this project of mine is different from what my fellow Justice Lab researcher Kiana is exploring. Through learning about her interests in mental health and incarceration I have been provided and opportunity to witness how health can interact with systems of justice. Further, I have found that conversations at the Justice Lab centered around our thoughts on systemic issues have been insightful. By talking to a variety of people interested in justice such as lawyers, researchers, and teachers, I have been able to explore what justice means through each of their narratives, something that will help me contextualize further justice-led work.