Parkinson's x Cadmium

Totally haven’t posted in a long time. I’m trying to sell some books here, so I’m reaching out to the web. These are MCAT preparation books, from the Berkeley review, and also Examkrackers 101 Passages books. There are also a full set of Official MCAT 2015 Flashcards.

Happy New Year everyone! So the 2016 Sigma Xi Student Research Showcase and I’ll like to make a shout out for the Google Hangout, where Heather from Sigma Xi will ask previous presenters from the 2015 showcase and get the inside scoop on how they prepared their winning presentations!  @sigmaxishowcase

The hangout will be live on Jan 7 2015 (Thur), Eastern Standard Time 3pm-4pm. Join in the hangout; Questions are very welcome! 

Sometimes you get one of those emails on your phone, and you glance left and right to make sure no one is around you, and then you read it a second time. (Because you don’t want to jump for joy when there are people around you. Because you don’t want to get embarrassed. But sometimes you jumped for joy anyway.) And that moment occurred today. But before I tell the world (i.e. the people that i can reach on Facebook & social media) that this tumblr that you are reading is the winning presentation of Sigma Xi Presentation 2015 (Undergraduate Div), I want to say: thank you. 

First, I want to profess my eternal gratitude to Dr. Gunnar Kwakye. He taught me a lot about science, about life, about balance. He also motivated in me this sense of responsibility that I have towards the project. Basically, he provided me some bricks, a little bit of a blueprint, but told me to go ahead, fill in the blueprint, and build a house. It’s a formidable challenge. But somehow it all materialized. Thank you for setting the bar this high. Second, I want to thank the eclectic combination of people that is Oberlin College. It’s probably only in small liberal arts schools like Oberlin where you can take a small class in scholarly writing and sit next to an organist, a comparative literature major, a history major, a religion major, a Hispanic studies major, and the rhetoric professor. (And no I typed this all at one go without having to check. I know all of these nice folks!) And then, in the classroom, you show them the video you made, all in the name of “a piece of rhetorical work for an honors project in the neuroscience department”. Although everyone has different majors, practically everyone has a concentration in Youtube, and so you have a collection of experts with feedback that encompass the spectrum. (okay, so Oberlin doesn’t offer a minor in Youtube. But still, high school students who are reading this, all of you should check out oberlin-college , oberlinconservatory, oberlinclear and oberlinundergraduateresearch ) 

Third, I want to thank the Internet and other video-making resources. There are so many resources for making videos that you don’t have to rely on people to build your own videos anymore. Anyone can make their own video. I of course struggled with these tools from the beginning, but it’s all part of science: some trial-and-error. It was helpful to have some resources though. OCMC is a corner in the library and there are a few computers with Adobe Premiere Pro. The AV loaner services provided a camcorder and a small microphone. Gabe Freed from OCMC provided me with some basic tips-and-tricks, but really his bubbly nature somehow led me to believe that I can edit videos in a week. 

Last but not least, I want to thank Sigma Xi’s @sigmaxishowcase for having this vision that our world would be a better place if scientists will communicate better. And looking at the cool things that the high schoolers are doing (and the incredible participation rates), I’d say the future is bright. I also want to thank the many judges for asking so many questions on my project. I’ll need the practice for my oral defense next week. Until then. 

Peace and love,

Ever wondered about what Parkinson's Disease is about? Interested to know how this disease may be worsened by environmental factors? I am doing research on the gene-environment research between alpha-synuclein (a protein involved in Parkinson's) and cadmium (a heavy metal found in batteries and ironically, phosphate fertilizers).

Made for the Sigma Xi Student Research Showcase 2015. Special thanks to staffers at the Oberlin Media Center for giving me some tips, and to everyone who has given constructive feedback on this video.