Major: Biology
Minors: Biochemistry, Leadership Communications
Gavin was a research intern at University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Children's Hospital through SURP (Summer Undergraduate Research Program) with faculty mentors Dr. Jeffrey Robinson and Dr. Matthew Sorensen.
How are you assisting with the project?
Our team worked alongside Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory) to create a survey through a research data base called REDCap. This survey was utilized to prioritize schools that had expressed interest in gaining another Automated Electric Defibrillator in their school. From the data collected, an "AED Need Score" was created to rank the schools based on priority. Things like social vulnerability index (SVI), rurality, school size, and percentage of students that qualify for school free and reduced lunch were taken into account. The research also intended to see if there were any correlations between those school/city metrics and "AED Need."
How have you benefitted from the project?
I was beyond lucky to benefit from this experience in ways far greater than I expected going into the program. First and foremost, I have Dr. Robinson and Dr. Sorensen to thank. One, for choosing me through the recruiting process, but two, and more importantly for fostering the amazing summer that I was able to have. They were able to mentor me in ways that I have not had the privilege of in the past. I benefited from this experience with the relationships I was able to walk away with, the hours and hours of shadowing pediatric cardiology electrophysiology, the technical knowledge I obtained from operating REDCap, the clinical outreach experience, and then to finish off with a public speaking presentation grounding framework for my future.
