A Day in the Life
Hi everyone! My name is Kirina Shah and I am a rising fourth-year at UNC from Asheville, North Carolina. I am a Psychology (B.S.) major with minors in Neuroscience and Medical Anthropology and hope to attend a combined JD/PhD program after graduation.
Coming into college, I knew I wanted to get involved in research and looked for positions through the Opportunities Database on the Office for Undergraduate Research website. From there, I found the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, where I have been a research assistant (RA) for the past two years. Additionally, I am a research assistant at Mother-Infant Studies, a role which I qualified for through the Gil Internship Program at UNC; it’s been a great opportunity to get more involved in real-life applications of psychology and neuroscience! Both labs operate within the Department of Psychiatry at UNC School of Medicine. Here’s what a typical day in my life looks like!
7:00 AM: Wake Up
Today, I am assisting in a study visit for Mother-Infant Studies before my classes start. On Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I have classes in the afternoon, so I tend to assist in study visits in the morning. I get ready for the day and head over to the Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC), where our study visits are held, to prepare and set up before the participant arrives.
8:15 AM: Study Visit
As part of Mother-Infant Studies, I’m currently working on the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, which is the largest study of early brain and child development in the United States. The study is spread across 27 different sites, which is pretty crazy to think about! Working on such a large study is incredibly interesting, as there are so many different aspects of the project to get involved in.
In terms of the study visits, participants will come in for various types of biological, developmental, and cognitive testing multiple times throughout a study. As an RA, I’m trained to assist with every visit in different ways. Today, the infant is coming in for a Visit 2, where we will be monitoring their brain activity via an electroencephalogram (EEG) net while they observe various videos and other stimuli. Throughout this visit, I’m involved in various tasks, such as entertaining the infant if they get fussy, assisting with cognitive testing, fitting them for an EEG net, etc.
11:15 AM: First Class
My first class of the day is ARTH 279: The Arts in England. I was initially nervous for this class since I had never taken an art history class before, and know pretty much nothing about art. Despite this, I have found it quite interesting, and definitely have a newfound appreciation for medieval art.
1:00 PM: Meeting
After my first class, I go to my weekly meeting with my mentor at Mother-Infant Studies, Dr. Alana Campbell. I will be undertaking a Senior Honors Thesis with Dr. Campbell next year, and we have been meeting regularly to discuss my thesis.
For my thesis, I will be analyzing infant EEG data, which is very different from adult data– infant recordings are usually much shorter and have significantly reduced quality. Because of this, analysis can be very challenging, which is why I need to start preparing now.
2:30 PM: Second Class
My next class is PSYC 493: Internship in Psychology. This is the pedagogy class required for the Gil Internship, which meets weekly with all of this semester’s Gil Interns and our mentors, Dr. Steve Buzinski and Emily Dolegowski.
In this class, we get to discuss everyone’s unique worksite, professional developmental skills, and overall experiences. It’s a great learning atmosphere, and I feel very lucky to have taken part in this program during my time at UNC.
3:35 PM: Third Class
My last class of the day is ANTH 143: Human Evolution and Adaptation, which is one of the courses offered to complete the Medical Anthropology minor. Luckily, this class is in Peabody, so it’s not a far walk from my Gil Internship class.
4:50 PM: Home + Workout
After my last class, I walk home to change into gym clothes and drop off my backpack. Since the weather has been so nice lately, I decided to go on a run through Umstead Park, which is really close to my house.
7:15 PM: Remote Lab Work
After my run, I quickly eat dinner before doing some work for the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation. Right now, I am analyzing EEG data for a clinical trial that is studying the effects of neurostimulation on generalized anxiety disorder. If I don’t have an in-person study visit to run, I have the option of analyzing the data from my own computer wherever I am. This is great for busy days like today, where I would not have had a lot of time to spend at the lab.
9:00 PM: Homework
After data analysis, I usually try to do some homework, but only something that doesn’t require too much effort after a long day! On Tuesdays/Thursdays, I only have one class in the morning, so I use those days to do the bulk of my studying and homework.
After homework, I get to bed around 11:30.
And that’s all for my day! Thanks for coming with me! If you have questions about UNC research opportunities, the Gil Internship, or anything related, please feel free to reach out at knayakwadi-shah@unc.edu.