Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Student (Summer 2016)

"During my summer at CIRP as a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Intern, I worked under two PIs, Dr. Allison E. Curry and Dr. Kristy Arbogast. With Dr. Curry’s team, I have been involved in a follow-up query to the team’s former conclusion that adolescents with ADHD are at a higher risk for adverse driving outcomes than adolescents without ADHD. I was responsible for identifying potential confounding covariates which might help to explain why members of this subgroup have a greater risk of adverse driving outcomes compared to their non-ADHD peers. In my work with Dr. Arbogast’s team, I assisted with data collection in the form of medical chart abstractions from CHOP electronic health records, which will now be used to draw conclusions about the natural history of youth concussions, specifically in outcomes among children who have experienced multiple lifetime concussions.

I am a rising senior at Franklin & Marshall College, where I study Mathematics and Public Health. The anecdotal advice and guidance that I have received while working at CIRP has been invaluable to my holistic understanding of research and the breadth of different graduate programs relating to injury science and public health. This experience has solidified my desire to pursue a graduate degree in Biostatistics and has allowed me to appreciate the importance of collaboration in an interdisciplinary research team."