Last week’s blog left off right before our PD session on Friday afternoon (July 25).
I walked into the room 10 minutes early, my brain still tangled in the research project proposal due the following Tuesday. The first thing I noticed was the speakers: each one stationed at a different table, five in total. Once again, I found myself surrounded by an intimidatingly accomplished group—everyone from standout high school students (and here I was thinking my résumé was above average) to PhD holders and candidates. Sitting face-to-face with these people felt both surreal and slightly terrifying. I mean, what do you even say to a physicist with a PhD? "So... speed equals distance over time?" But I digress.
Sticky notes with our names were spread across the tables, ultimately determining our seating arrangement. Now remember: I was still slightly tuned out. Lunch break had just ended, and I was still lightly stressing over the research proposal—or maybe just existential despair over the mountain of jargon-filled journal articles I had yet to read. (Slight foreshadowing: those articles turned out not to be the worst thing I had to read that week). So, I sat down, completely unprepared to find myself alone at a table, right across from Dr. Scott, the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing. Wow. After a brief introduction, there was a solid two minutes of awkward silence while I fished my iPad out of my backpack, desperately trying to find my list of prepared questions. Of course, my GoodNotes app needed an update. Great.
Our conversation turned out okay, though. Other fellow HYRS students filed in, and the questions got rolling. Dr. Scott had incredible insights to share: even though her main focus is knowledge mobilization, she’s also worked on AI-driven clinical data projects, not unlike my current role. We then rotated tables, meeting everyone one-on-one. Ameena’s vast involvement with leadership roles, creative volunteering, and grant applications was inspiring.
Howe, with his 3MT experience, reminded us to always present research with our audience in mind—leave your ego at the door! Breanne emphasized the importance of negotiation and relationship-building. And finally, Dr. Tao’s journey from a PhD in laboratory medicine and pathology to becoming a full-time scientific illustrator was extremely remarkable. Honestly, everyone was exceptional.
Afterwards, we transitioned to an information session and a crash course on poster design for our upcoming HYRS Celebration of Research Day. Now, this was when the stress started kicking in: it felt like I was just starting my research project, and now I had to make a full-on poster in just under three weeks? And remember last week when I optimistically thought I’d have time to publish something in just six weeks? I guess I’m delusional. That’s irony for you.
But before I start yapping too much about last Friday, let’s talk about what actually happened during the week.
Monday and Tuesday were spent drafting a research proposal. I can’t exaggerate anything here, so I’ll just say that it was a manageable pace, neither too slow nor too fast. I will admit, writing it made me feel like a tenured PhD researcher (it’s the APA citations, isn’t it?). Although, as a funny side note… remember how I hinted at something worse than jargon-filled articles? At one point, I was completely lost for a solid five minutes trying to figure out why my supervisor wanted me to read the International Classification of Orofacial Pain; initially, I was considering calling it quits when I saw the Table of Contents. It turns out that I’d been working in the trenches of computer science—sitting at a desk, seven hours a day, glued to a screen, without a touch of grass—for so long that I’d completely forgotten that I was in the HYRS program. We aim to advance health research, after all.
Wednesday marked the start of actually building my project. We also had a fun library scavenger hunt that day; I think I've finally learned how to somewhat navigate the confusing book cataloging systems—I swear they’re making it complicated for fun. For the rest of the week, each day was spent meticulously sitting at a desk coding (with the help of ChatGPT—and yes, this is ethical) and navigating complex software. Let’s just say I’ve now confirmed that I could never be a computer science major. But the feeling of successful results is always unparalleled.
Even after seven hours in a hoodie debugging code, I remind myself that I’m in health research—not a Silicon Valley startup—and that its interdisciplinary nature is exactly what makes it exciting.
Alexander (Alex) D., a student from Sherwood Park, is an avid sports fan and
competitive badminton player—which takes up most of his time. He also enjoys
playing piano and watching movies or TV, and channels his love for quantitative
subjects, like math, into analyzing fantasy NBA leagues to win.