As I’m finishing collecting data for my IDEA Grant project, I’m thinking about its potential impact. As a reminder, I’m studying the effect of changing the rate and depth of breathing while maintaining the same total ventilation per minute, during an exaggerated breathing test. Originally I was going to be examining the effect of this change on participants’ rate-pressure product, which is heart rate times systolic blood pressure. This measurement is used clinically to indicate stress on the heart, but I’ve decided there are other measures I want to focus on as well. As a part of the larger study my project is a part of, we’re measuring oxygen consumption during the test. I’ve decided to add this to my analysis.
It’ll help to tell if cardiovascular changes are being mediated by an increased metabolic demand, or an increased regulatory signal independent of energy metabolism. I’ll also look at the heart rate and blood pressure changes separately rather than only as their product. This research will help to elucidate how the body responds to inspiratory demands that are in excess of the demand needed to meet the body’s oxygen requirements. There is not a lot of data on this, which makes it an exciting topic to study. I’m planning to work on a short manuscript covering the data over the fall and to present it at a discipline specific research conference, in addition to presenting it at the President’s Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence. I hope my research will inspire inquiry into this topic by other researchers to develop a more complete understanding of it.
I’m grateful to have had this summer research experience, through the IDEA Grant. It’s a great step for me as I work toward my long term goals. I enjoy research and have enjoyed the teaching I’ve gotten to do, so I’m working toward becoming a professor. I’m also a competitive person, which can be helpful in a field as difficult as academia. As a professor, writing grants and getting funding is extremely important. Ultimately, it’s one of if not the most important responsibilities a research scientist has. It’s helpful for me to have already gotten the experience of writing, receiving and completing a grant during my undergrad here at FSU. It’s a unique opportunity that most undergrad students aren’t able to do, especially those who attend other schools. In addition to the grant itself, I’m also glad to have gotten additional experience working on research because of this program.
I’ve become more familiar with collecting cardiovascular and respiratory measurements and interacting with participants while collecting data. And now that I’m transitioning into data analysis for the project, I’m gaining additional experience using LabChart, which is extremely common in my field, automating Excel organization, and interpreting statistical results. I’ll also get more practice writing by creating an abstract and more practice disseminating research clearly while presenting at the President’s Showcase.
As I move into the fall semester, I’ve been thinking heavily on where I want to attend graduate school. I’ve visited UW Madison and CU Boulder and liked the campuses and some of the professors, but I’m still looking at other universities as well. Because of the research experience I’ve gotten through the IDEA Grant and UROP programs at FSU I’ve been able to gain a lot of experience that professors want in a graduate student. This has been great since it gives me more freedom in what school I go to. I don’t need to be as concerned on if I’ll be admitted, since I tick the boxes a lot of professors and schools are looking for. I’m interested in studying a lot of things but a particular topic that I’d like to study in graduate school is the autonomic control of blood pressure. I’ve gotten to do some research on blood pressure, but haven’t gone very in depth in the mechanics of how it’s regulated, which would be fun to learn more about. Either way I’m excited for the next steps in my academic journey and grateful for my time in the IDEA Grant program which will help me to achieve them.
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