Aliyah Clark

OVERVIEW

I spent my summer in Dr. Bish’s concussion lab and for our project we observed different brain wave patterns in participants who have had concussions, some more than 3 years ago, compared to those who have had none. During the summer we were able to tests several new participants, adding onto the participant list that had been tested in the previous years. The goal of this ongoing research is to eventually determine a clear path between executive function controls and irregular brain wave patterns. We were able to examine new data this summer including EEG scans during color word interference tasks which had shown interesting results that had not been observed before. The future of this research looks promising as we hope to get more participants to find greater significance starting this upcoming fall semester. 

WHAT WAS VALUABLE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE

As Dr. Bish’s concussion study is ongoing and has been for about 3 years, his study has the potential of receiving journal publication if significant results become consistent. Therefore, the entire experience was valuable. Administering tests, scoring and entering data correctly was and still is very important in any lab. Meeting the psych and neuro professors in a more relaxed setting during Wednesday lunches was another valuable experience as I got to know them a little better and they never hesitated to share and offer advice pertaining to my future. My only regret is that I had not learned about summer fellows early enough to do it again!

THE COOLEST PART OF THE EXPERIENCE

As a commuter student I have to say the coolest part of my experience was being able to live on campus for 8 weeks. I have never lived on Ursinus’s campus and I was housed in Richter which, from what I have heard, is one of the more preferred residences. I was able to truly experience life on campus as I met new people that I would run into in the kitchen or common rooms etc. I learned about cool places nearby like the Collegeville bakery, the shops in Providence town center, the Trappe, Arnold’s and many more. The unfortunate disconnect that I had been feeling as a commuter student in school but living in Philadelphia has been blurred. I feel a part of the Ursinus community more than ever now.

WHO I MET THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE 

I was fortunate enough to meet my research team over the summer, Dr. Bish and Maria Daly. Although I have taken many classes with Dr. Bish I had never gotten a chance to work side by side in his lab. Dr. Bish was a great mentor and teacher throughout my entire summer fellows experience. He gave Maria and I the tools we needed to be successful in any neuroscience lab as well as a comfortable work space over the summer. Maria and I also made a great team together. Everything that we accomplished during summer fellows was a result of great communication, team work and diligence. I could not have asked for a better research team!