Overview

 

Growing up, I saw how health problems affect people’s lives, which made me interested in medicine and health fairness. When I started high school, I wanted to get hands-on experience in research to learn more about health and disease. I reached out to local university professors and researchers by sending cold emails and even contacted some outside universities. But I found no lab that was willing to take me. Not giving up, I started doing research on my own about brain-eating amoebas. I studied how they cause disease, the symptoms, how they are diagnosed, and possible treatments. I read many scientific articles and case studies to understand the challenges in diagnosis and care.

 

Personal importance of this work

 

Through this independent research, I learned how to carefully read and understand scientific studies, ask my own questions, and organize information clearly. I gained a deeper understanding of a rare and serious disease, brain-eating amoebas, and the challenges doctors face in diagnosing and treating it. I also improved my scientific writing skills and had the opportunity to co-author a peer-reviewed research article. Most importantly, this experience taught me persistence, self-motivation, and how to work independently to explore complex health topics.​

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