RaMP stands for UHP's Biomedical Research and Mentoring Program. In November of 2019 I went to a presentation featuring dozens of five minute summaries of projects researchers from UC and Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center (CCHMC) were working on. I applied to work on five of the projects, interviewed, and matched with a Clinical Psychology Laboratory at CCHMC.
Psychology has a lot of implications regarding pain, pain tolerance, and pain management. This semester I worked with Dr. Hadas in her clinical psychology laboratory. Our research focuses on pain, specifically on people’s individual differences in pain tolerance. Multiple factors ranging from genetics to environment to psychosocial variables can contribute to someone’s response to pain. This research is important because understanding people’s response to a pain stimulus can help us to better understand what factors influence how the body interprets pain.
I have previous experience working in a biology lab on research with mice and birds. This was a great experience for me, however I came into RaMP wanting a new experience to learn and grow from, which is why I am so glad I landed in Dr. Hadas’s lab! Even though biology has always been my favorite subject, I have learned that I prefer working with people to working with animals. I have also learned that I like a close knit community of colleagues so we can work together on projects and problems. Lastly, I know what life could look like as a researcher as a result of this experience.
As for what's next, I'm not really sure! I hope to continue working in Dr. Hadas’s lab for the next couple of years, if she'll have me! I feel like I still have a lot to learn, especially with the semester getting cut short. In addition, I added a psychology minor as a result of my RaMP experience, and am even considering going into psychology one day. All I know is that I definitely want to go to graduate school. Right now I am planning to go to medical school, but I certainly have not eliminated the possibility of a career in research.
If you would like a more in-depth look at my work and experience with RaMP, feel free to view the video below to see my RaMP final presentation!