Danny Kim, Entry #1, First and Second Weeks

Hellos fellow EXP students,

I hope you guys are having fantastic summer because I am! Some of you may have started your work in the lab, some still at home. Well, today I wanted to share how my life in California and at UCLA has been. By the way, I live with Oliver and Ian at the moment.

First day of my lab experience was not smooth as I prayed for. I went to the lab a little before 9. While I intended to get there by 8:30, I was lost and could not find the place. I talked to the research coordinator that I was contacting through emails, Andrew. I was lucky enough to join their lab meeting that they hold every Monday, but like expected I could not understand a single word they were saying except "autism" and "infant." I spent most of the first day taking these quizzes on accountability, privacy, security, and etc (I remember one of them being HIPAA[Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act]).

Where I work

Most days after that were mostly on working on data entry from clinical assessments for autism and Dup15q syndrome. I learned many things about what these specific tests aim for and why they also look into a seemingly unrelated disorder. However, I must admit I was sort of afraid that I might end up working on just the data entry, so when I had time for a conversation with my research coordinator, Scott, I expressed my eagerness for something more, like a project I could work on. Luckily, he was very open and welcome about it and told me he would set up a meeting with my PI, who I never get to see, to find a right project for me.

I also had a chance to watch an EEG session, which I could not take photos of because of the privacy issues. They put on a geodesic sensor net on the infant and tested their ERP (event related potential) to see the infant's response to a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event. They used bubbles, word segments, and some video clips to measure and diagnose the child.

Geodesic sensor net

EEG Session room

Things outside the lab also cannot be missed out. Conveniently, Ian and Oliver also worked in UCLA, around the same area, so we had lunches together. Unfortunately, because of his busy schedule, Oliver never seemed to make it but Ian and I had great lunches at the cafeteria in the building or Chipotle.

Ian and Grace (another high school student at our lab)

Oliver cooked his first meal: Spaghetti and meatballs

Usually, we ate quick/no breakfast and had lunches at the lab. But we decided to cook our own dinners at least. Everyone takes turns in either cooking, cleaning, or doing dishes. So far, we only had some disagreements. I think we spent great first two weeks and I look forward to the rest. I hope you guys have both great and fun experiences at your labs.