My passion for neuroscience began in eighth grade and is now the career that I want to pursue after high school. This year in Honors, I’m doing a May Project Extension and creating a lab experience to explore the life of a neurologist. May Projects happen at the end of senior year as a two week internship in a senior’s field of choice, and Honors students have the option to extend this experience over the school year to research the career from all angles. For me that means reading academic articles from medical journals in the field of neurology and specifically clinical pediatric neurology. I’m looking at the trends in the profession, new discoveries, old and new data that’s been collected, the kind of education required for this career, and current news stories related to the field. Next semester, I’ll have enough knowledge to connect with a professional, and my goal is to acquire a spot in a lab for my May Project experience.
Pediatric neurology is the study of the nervous system of children. There are many areas to specialize in like epilepsy, cerebral palsy, migraines, neurocritical care, and birth defects. Clinical neurologists combine researching new discoveries as well as working with patients. There are many paths to take after becoming a certified researcher, but that starts after getting the proper education. My research so far has allowed me to discover a lot of interesting concepts in neuroscience and the path to becoming a neurologist. From an article called “Emerging Subspecialties in Neurology: A Career as a Clinical Trialist in Neurology,” I’ve learned that it is important to find an area of interest early on so that I can focus on finding opportunities and making connections with professionals. Through connections, I’m more likely to find clinical work opportunities because networking is very important in the medical field.
Pediatric neurologists are in high demand according to the article “Opinion and Special Articles: Challenges and Opportunities in Defining Career Identity in Academic Neurology.” However, people are afraid to pursue this career because of the low rate of positive results from clinical trials. This discovery led me to research how trials are created and what needs to be done so that people can succeed in them instead of failing. According to Johns Hopkins, there are two kinds of medical research. There are observation studies which identify and analyze patterns on biological materials and clinical trials which test safety and the effectiveness of new medications or techniques. Clinical research is done to improve the quality of life of people with diseases, and every research project needs funds for materials.
Often, having a grant can create validations to other providers to provide you with more funds, and each grant process has a unique timeline, deadlines and requirements. As explained in “How to Get Grant Funding for Clinical Trials: A Step-by-Step Guide There are Many Steps and Types of Grants People can Apply For,” there are four main types of grants. Government funding supports public service initiation; private funding is used to fund a project in health, education, or in the arts; corporate funding supports community projects and aligns with the business’ objectives; and research grants are for scientific studies. If a proposal is clearly organized with a timeline, with goals, budget, needs, and aligns with the provider’s goals, then the chances of success are high.
During the second semester, I hope to research and connect with professionals who work in a lab or who practice clinical or pediatric neurology. My plan is to shadow them for a few days to learn the dynamics of the job and the kind of expectations this career carries. This will give me a better understanding of the career I want to pursue and if there’s anything that I need to change in my path. Having real world, in-person experiences are invaluable in helping me make connections that I can use for my capstone research and in my future career.