Confused on how to progress from finding a topic + seeking a mentor + making the deadline??
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:11 pm
Hi there,
I'm in the 10th grade and I recently decided my subject area for my hopefully-qualifying-for-Intel-ISEF project: blindness. I decided on this topic because my grandfather suffers from retinal degeneration and he's gone blind in one eye. I'm also afraid that this is hereditary, and it's been called to my attention that this is a big problem for many people world. It is so critical for our eyes to be functioning correctly, and I want to become a surgeon some day. Sight is honestly so beautiful and I really want to help restore the vision of others.
While that is my subject area, it still feels quite broad. I've done some researching and I've made a list of the possible sub-areas that I can look into:
- Correcting refractive errors
- Correcting cataracts
- Improve neuroprotection in patients whose vision is still good
- Embryonic stem cells could be used to build new retail pigmented epithelial cells that nourish retinal visual cells and absorb light ~ that can be transplanted into a patient (kind of nearing towards this as an aspiring surgeon)
- Prosthetics can restore function of individuals who have lost their vision use retinal prostheses. (Unsure about this proposal because I know nothing about coding/engineering?)
- Gene therapy (this is a stretch)
- Stem cell research (oh boy)
And when I decide on one sub-area to focus on, how do I delve into it? How far should I go into learning about the anatomy of the eye? Right now I'm taking a course on Neurobiology on Coursera to understand how information is transferred from the eye to the brain. I don't have access to much info about eyes, besides anatomy. In all honesty, how do people go from rock-bottom like me to creating award winning science fair projects??
And how long should the experimental process of the project be, compared to the time it takes to gather research/background/seeking a mentor/talk to people/learn lab procedures/set up project display? Do I even have enough time left?
The Intel ISEF qualifying science fair in my area is March 25th and that's my deadline. I'm not sure if I should be seeking a mentor immediately or until I come up with a decent proposal + lab procedures for restoring vision in others (oh boy).
And speaking of mentors, I have no idea on how that works. Is it alright if I can't find a mentor in my area that specializes in ophthalmology research? And once I do find a possible mentor, how do I brush upon the subject of asking me to mentor them in the email? I hope you understand my confusion.
I mean, when you put it in perspective, why would a very busy scientist want to spend time with an overly ambitious high schooler that knows little to nothing compared to them? How would they lend me lab equipment? How much time should I be spending at their lab? Do you think they would ask me to do extra work for them in exchange for them mentoring me? And say they did have a really good idea for a project, how would they feel about me carrying the work out and taking most of the credit? I want my project to be original yet contributive research, not something "assigned" by a professor?
Overall, how do I convince them that mentoring me wouldn't be a waste of time? That I am someone they can rely on?
I would highly appreciate a detailed answer in response to my detailed post. Thank you for reading!
I'm in the 10th grade and I recently decided my subject area for my hopefully-qualifying-for-Intel-ISEF project: blindness. I decided on this topic because my grandfather suffers from retinal degeneration and he's gone blind in one eye. I'm also afraid that this is hereditary, and it's been called to my attention that this is a big problem for many people world. It is so critical for our eyes to be functioning correctly, and I want to become a surgeon some day. Sight is honestly so beautiful and I really want to help restore the vision of others.
While that is my subject area, it still feels quite broad. I've done some researching and I've made a list of the possible sub-areas that I can look into:
- Correcting refractive errors
- Correcting cataracts
- Improve neuroprotection in patients whose vision is still good
- Embryonic stem cells could be used to build new retail pigmented epithelial cells that nourish retinal visual cells and absorb light ~ that can be transplanted into a patient (kind of nearing towards this as an aspiring surgeon)
- Prosthetics can restore function of individuals who have lost their vision use retinal prostheses. (Unsure about this proposal because I know nothing about coding/engineering?)
- Gene therapy (this is a stretch)
- Stem cell research (oh boy)
And when I decide on one sub-area to focus on, how do I delve into it? How far should I go into learning about the anatomy of the eye? Right now I'm taking a course on Neurobiology on Coursera to understand how information is transferred from the eye to the brain. I don't have access to much info about eyes, besides anatomy. In all honesty, how do people go from rock-bottom like me to creating award winning science fair projects??
And how long should the experimental process of the project be, compared to the time it takes to gather research/background/seeking a mentor/talk to people/learn lab procedures/set up project display? Do I even have enough time left?
The Intel ISEF qualifying science fair in my area is March 25th and that's my deadline. I'm not sure if I should be seeking a mentor immediately or until I come up with a decent proposal + lab procedures for restoring vision in others (oh boy).
And speaking of mentors, I have no idea on how that works. Is it alright if I can't find a mentor in my area that specializes in ophthalmology research? And once I do find a possible mentor, how do I brush upon the subject of asking me to mentor them in the email? I hope you understand my confusion.
I mean, when you put it in perspective, why would a very busy scientist want to spend time with an overly ambitious high schooler that knows little to nothing compared to them? How would they lend me lab equipment? How much time should I be spending at their lab? Do you think they would ask me to do extra work for them in exchange for them mentoring me? And say they did have a really good idea for a project, how would they feel about me carrying the work out and taking most of the credit? I want my project to be original yet contributive research, not something "assigned" by a professor?
Overall, how do I convince them that mentoring me wouldn't be a waste of time? That I am someone they can rely on?
I would highly appreciate a detailed answer in response to my detailed post. Thank you for reading!