Read through My Story to look into my research projects and personal interests, including a showcase of art pieces.

Conducting research

After reading 19 studies and writing a 52-page literature review on the correlation between air pollution exposure and neurodegenerative disease in 2020, I reached out to numerous leading researchers in the field, including Dr. Erin R. Kulick of Temple University. Dr. Kulick accepted my request for mentorship in May of 2021, after which we conceptualized an original study examining the association between residential ambient air pollution exposure and cognitive decline in the Temple Health: Block-by-Block cohort, a population-based cohort of 1,900 participants residing in underserved urban neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. 

While designing this study, I read thirty additional studies, continuing to pinpoint gaps in the literature and subsequently developing research objectives. Throughout 2022, I also taught myself the inner workings of SAS statistical software, remotely completing a forty-hour course in SAS principles; as this was my first experience with statistical analysis, I built my skills from the ground up. 

During the summer of 2022, unprecedented logistical complications pushed me to alter my plan as the Temple Health dataset suddenly became unavailable. Thus, I created new objectives and an analysis plan for the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) dataset collected in 2014, now focusing my study on the relationship between residential air pollution exposure and stroke incidence. Due to the swift change of plans, I made great efforts to acclimate myself to the existing literature in this field, reading over forty new studies. Subsequently, I independently completed all statistical analyses using SAS and independently drew conclusions that were confirmed by my mentor.

Creation of a portfolio

While putting together an art portfolio over the past several years, many of my pieces have focused on an essential question: How can I juxtapose the carefree nature and nostalgia of childhood with the pressures of adolescence to demonstrate a loss of innocence that occurs while growing up? Additionally, a number of pieces are inspired by diverse cultural experiences around the world, while certain pieces were made to practice technical skills. A selection of my favorite pieces are shown in the gallery below.