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Q: How would you explain your work to a non-scientist or even a fifth grader?
Jiang: My work focuses on understanding how different regions,
or parts, of the brain interact. For example, when you walk into a room
and see your pet, there is a visual stimulus (in one region of the
brain) of your pet that might lead to, for instance, a stimulus in an
emotional center of your brain. So somehow, information was passed from
one region to another. We are using mathematics to understand how that
happens.
Q: What are the possible real-world applications for your study?
Jiang: The goal of this project is to better understand
how information propagates or spreads in a randomly wired neural
network. For example, when people suffer a stroke, the original
connection between neurons can be lost and information will be
transmitted differently than before. If we understand how information
was transmitted originally, maybe we can figure out how information is
transmitted after the stroke and find solutions to correct broken
connections that might have occurred.
Q: How does this experience align with your professional goals?
Jiang: I plan to pursue a career in computer science or data
science. Coding and data management/analysis applied throughout my
summer research project helped me enhance my coding skills in Python and
build a foundation for my data science career.
Q: What do you enjoy when you are not doing research?
Jiang: When I’m not doing research, I love playing badminton, bodybuilding and hanging out with friends.
Q: What advice would you give to your fellow students who may be considering or are planning to pursue undergraduate research?
Jiang: Undergraduate research is a good way of enhancing the
knowledge you learn from class and an opportunity to pursue things you
are interested in. I suggest thinking over whether you like to do
research and consider whether it might be useful for your future career.