Background
University of Virginia, Class of 2025
Project
Research Data Analysis
Project Overview
My project this summer was focused on gathering interesting insights into the Foundation’s historical impact. My goal was to find ways to collect quantitative information about how projects it has funded have advanced the technology from the bench to the clinic. I was also tasked with extracting and providing data from the Foundation’s former grant management system into its new ProposalCentral database.
Project Outcomes
I created a program that can source relevant documents from the corpus of focused ultrasound data, assign them into unique groupings based on categories of keywords, and identify all the Foundation’s funded projects. I used this information to compare citation averages between Foundation-funded research and that which was not supported, showing that Foundation-funded research has on average a 1.67x higher citation count than the field, surpassing even the citation count of the National Institutes of Health. The program is also capable of gathering all information on clinical trials related to focused ultrasound in the unique categories.
What was the most important learning point of your internship experience?
Gaining exposure to all of the varied research in focused ultrasound helped me learn a lot about the science and active research occurring in the field.
What surprised you the most (good or bad) about your internship experience?
I was surprised to learn the magnitude of the Foundation’s reach and impact in the field of focused ultrasound!
What new skills or knowledge did you gain during your internship?
I have become much more familiar with funding terminology, the broader research landscape, and with Python and artificial intelligence tools. I had limited knowledge of focused ultrasound before I started, so I feel like I’ve learned a lot!
How will your accomplishments impact the field of focused ultrasound?
My accomplishments will provide tools that can be used by the Research and Education team to better understand the Foundation’s impact on the field of focused ultrasound, as well as to understand the clinical and research landscape.