RISE Scholarship Report

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Cynthia Stone
5 years ago
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1 RISE Scholarship Report Internship within Section of Systems and Neuroscience Prof. Dr. med. Michael N. SMOLKA A document written by the research intern David LECLERC To the attention of DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus Technische Universität Dresden Dresden, Germany September 1, 2015

2 Table of Contents 1 My impression of research in Germany 2 2 My impression of German universities 2 3 What I found particularly interesting about my research 2 4 A typical day of my internship 3 5 Highlights of my stay 3 6 My impression of Germany 4

3 I agree that this report and the accompanying pictures may be used by the DAAD in printed materials, presentations, and on websites in order to inform funding organizations, sponsors, and students about the RISE program.

4 1 My impression of research in Germany Although it is hard for me to presume about the research quality in Germany as a whole, I can certainly share my thoughts regarding my experience within Section Systems Neuroscience at Technische Universität Dresden. During my internship, I had many occasion to experience how competent, helpful and collaborative my colleagues were. Whenever I felt lost, they were always very happy to help. I also really enjoyed the atmosphere in my lab. I felt like everyone was calm and laid-back, while very efficient and focused when working on a specific task. My colleagues were always open to new ideas and encouraged my creativity. They allowed me to experiment and learn, as the internship advanced. Overall, I would say that my impression about research in Germany is highly positive. 2 My impression of German universities Again, it is difficult for me to tell about the quality of german universities, for I only worked 12 weeks as an intern in an experimental neuroscience lab. Nonetheless, my impression about universities in Germany is good, since I got to envision the many possibilities in terms of research, as well as their very affordable cost. I am positively impressed by the low-tuition fees that apply in the country, and would definitely consider and recommend pursuing graduate school within the german borders. 3 What I found particularly interesting about my research I think the research done in my lab was particularly interesting, since it deals with this rather recent technology that is fmri, as well as all of the difficulties that come with it. In effect, functional neuroimaging and more specifically BOLD-based fmri data analysis poses very challenging questions, and I am glad I was allowed to take part in the work that is currently done to answer them. One of the questions I had the chance to explore goes as follows: is it possible to predict human behaviour based on MR signal? While this interrogation seems pretty unrealistic, my coworkers and I have already found some interesting patterns 2

5 that encourage us to further the investigation. During the last three months, I could hence see how the treatment of BOLD signals can rapidly become complex, and I think this makes it even more moving. 4 A typical day of my internship I would say my days at Section Systems Neuroscience as an intern were rather interesting, and productive. They would usually start at 11AM, and end around 8PM. Although those work hours might seem a little bizarre, I was the one who decided to go this way. Indeed, I always found myself more focused in the late afternoon. Having the freedom to come and go whenever I wanted to is thus something I enjoyed a lot. My tasks were essentially revolving around coding. For instance, I could spend the day reading about ways to treat fmri data, and then try to implement some features based on the said readings. I could also find and use some already existing signal processing algorithms to extract correlations over time between brain regions. The coding tasks themselves were always varied. Lunch time was also a pleasant part of my day. I would usually have fun discussions with my colleagues, be it about science, politics, or cultural differences between everyone s homeland. Being able to freely exchange with my colleagues and learn more about their background is definitely something that added to the experience. Speaking of which, I also enjoyed the regular Monday talk that goes on in the lab, where everyone exposes how their research is going, and what they are currently working on. 5 Highlights of my stay My internship in Germany consists of highlights lying both on the personal and academic levels. On the former, I really appreciated the weekend conference in Heidelberg. Not only did I get to meet great people over there, with whom I had the chance to travel during the past months, I could also get a glimpse of the german university culture and did some interesting networking. On the latter, I would say being allowed to enter the scanner at the neuroimaging center of TU Dresden and get my brain scanned was very exciting. Having never been in a MRI scanner before, this is something I am not going to forget any time soon. 3

6 6 My impression of Germany My impression of Germany is very positive. I was enchanted by the importance accorded to science and education, the status of women, the respect of minorities, and, of course, the love for ordered things. Although they might seem cold at first, I learnt that Germans are very welcoming and open to the world. I finally have a lot of respect for the green initiatives that Germany leads. Unfortunately, not all of the energy produced and consumed in the country is renewable, but I think the latter is currently ahead of many rich countries, which should follow its example. I would definitely recommend anyone to apply for a scholarship through RISE, and will absolutely consider doing a master in one of Germany s many well-reputated universities. 4

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Defining free will away EDDY NAHMIAS ISN T ASKING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE Free Will by Sam Harris (The Free Press),. /$. 110 In his pithy pamphlet Free Will, Sam Harris explains why he thinks free will is an