Remote Research During the Pandemic

My name is Jithin V. George and I am a rising senior Neuroscience and Biomathematics double major at the University! This summer I will continue research with the Orr lab via the Royal Experience Summer Internship Program.

This summer, I have two main projects. The first project is to complete analysis of data that I collected before the semester ended. I have to watch and score 306 videos for 5 different behaviors. Once I complete this step, I will be able to analyze data and ascertain whether a short-term exposure to high-fat diets in mice interferes with visuospatial memory! I will run statistical analyses on the data I collect, compile my findings so far, and submit an abstract for the 2020 SfN Neuroscience conference. Presenting research at conferences is an integral part of my application to MD-PhD programs and so, this is an essential experience for my future!

Once I complete the above project, I will investigate the different social compliance techniques used in political campaign ads before and after the introduction of C-SPAN. This project combines two of my favorite subjects: social psychology and data science. I am super excited about this project because it is my first foray into social psychology! When I eventually manage my own lab, I hope to engage in both behavioral neuroscience and social psychology research. Hence, this preliminary exposure is extremely important in laying the foundation for my future career!

Fig 1. Snapshot of typical video analysis process.

Jithin V. George
Neuroscience, Biomathematics

3 Replies to “Remote Research During the Pandemic”

  1. Jithin,
    This sounds like an amazing experience! It’s great you get to continue to work with a team you are familiar with yet still get to explore new skills and projects. I’m interested to learn more about the results of the research you are working on!

  2. Hi Jithin,

    I find your work to be interesting, and I hope your results come out clean (unlike N330!) I look forward to your presentation at the SfN conference. For your political psych research, do you have any idea what subjects you would be using for that?

    1. Hi Tommy,

      Thanks for your comment! Sorry I’m so late to reply, I just saw this.
      I’m planning on using a political ad database organized by the “Living Room Candidate” organization. I might mix some standard ads (just your everyday ads like detergent or insurance etc) as filler ads to make a training dataset but my decision on that call is pending.

      Unfortunately, SfN was cancelled but I still hope my data turns out clean! You’ll see my internship poster eventually!

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