Showing posts with label Vanderbilt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vanderbilt. Show all posts

Awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Thrilled at the news. 
More pats of encouragement. 
Got awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. 

==
April 04, 2024

Dear Hari Srinivasan:

Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship...

NSF publishes the names of Fellowship Offers at https://www.research.gov/grfp/. ...

Being chosen as a NSF Graduate Research Fellow is a significant national accomplishment and places you among an elite group of Fellows, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in STEM or STEM education. We wish you similar success in your graduate studies and continued progress toward your aspirations throughout your career.

Yours sincerely,
Jacqueline Huntoon, PhD
Division Director
Division of Graduate Education




RadMad Shoutout.

 A shoutout from my old lab, the amazing makerspace UC Berkeley Rad Mad Disability Lab

Let’s give a round of applause to our alumni Hari!! Hari, previously our lead in Team Propaganda, has recently been awarded the 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship.
The RadMad Lab is proud of you!!


 

FCAI NISE Fellow Hari Srinivasan Pens Second Op-Ed for Time Magazine

https://www.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinnovation/2024/01/05/fcai-nise-fellow-hari-srinivasan-pens-second-op-ed-for-time-magazine/


FCAI NISE Fellow Hari Srinivasan Pens Second Op-Ed for Time Magazine

Posted by stasikjs on Friday, January 5, 2024 in FCAI News.

On January 3rd, 2024, Frist Center for Autism and Innovation Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow Hari Srinivasan published his second article in Time magazine, entitled “The Pervasive Loneliness of Autism”.

In this thought-provoking article, Srinivasan discusses how the epidemic of loneliness disproportionally effects the autistic population, and is only exacerbated by U.S. notions of independent living being the ideal.

Well done Hari, for another amazing piece of work!

Read Hari’s article here.

We reported on Hari’s previous Time article here.


College Autism Summit


The Casio Lab and Wallace Lab booth at last month's college autism summit. 
Both labs study Sensory System in Autism. 
In layman's terms, the 2 labs study the internal and external sensory system respectively
The top photo shows Will doing the Rubber Hand Illusion with a conference attendee. 
Carbo the touch robot is used to study touch amongst other things. 


 

EEG Capping

 

EEG capping from a neuroimaging researcher perspective at the Vanderbilt EEG research lab 
(rather than as a half sedated patient in a hospital clinic).

Felt like a soggy swim cap. Not the most comfortable feeling but tolerable.

To clarify, in this photo I'm trying on the cap to see what it feels like as I will likely be using neuroimaging methods (EEG, fMRI etc) in my own research design and I will be studying issues in autism.

Psychiatry Symposium

 https://www.vumc.org/psychiatry/AcademicPsychiatry2023


Schedule
10:45-10:50amWelcome and Introduction
10:50-11:50amOral Session #1
11:50am-12:00pmBreak
12:00-1:00pmCollaboration Talks
1:00-1:10pmBreak
1:10-2:10pmPoster Session 
1:10-1:40pm   Group A
1:40-2:10pm   Group B
2:10-2:20pmBreak
2:20-3:20pmOral Session #2
3:20-3:25pmClosing Remarks
3:25-4:00pmIce Cream Social


NASEM: Cultivating Accessible Educational Pathways and Spaces

 


Event by National Academies of Sciences, Engr and Medicine. 
Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM:  
Cultivating Accessible Educational Pathways and Spaces 
THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2023, 
I was on the the panel that runs from 1:35pm ET - 2:15pm ET
Recording link 



"This virtual session is a critical element of Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM: Cultivating Accessible Educational Pathways and Spaces, the fourth event in the five-part Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM conversation series.  Overall, this event in the series will focus on the important role of education in preparing students with disabilities as they enter the STEM ecosystem.  Discussions will focus on the need to challenge assumptions about who can learn and succeed in STEM and the need to make direct changes to policies and practices to facilitate positive educational experiences for students. Examples will include asset based approaches to learning in classrooms, laboratories, online, and in the field. 


Got a nice feedback email today. 

"My name is ____ and I work at a medical university in a northern town in ___Ontario Canada. I saw your presentation today on cultivating accessible educational pathways and spaces. I was completely blown away by your presentation. What you have accomplished is incredibly impressive. I not only applaud you but the professors who went out of their way to make labs accessible for you. I think as a medical school, we are behind the ball so to speak with regards to accommodating the needs of those with different abilities....... This entire series has been fascinating to me. Thank you for sharing."
====
On behalf of the planning committee, I want to thank you for being part of the NASEM Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM discussion series.

This event was very well received, and your panel’s discussion was truly fantastic. Thank you for your leadership and for taking time to share your insight and expertise.

It feels like a historic and meaningful inflection point for people with disabilities in STEM, and we are grateful for your role in driving that change.
======

On behalf of the planning committee for the Disrupting Ableism and Advancing STEM conversation series and the National Academies staff, I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to each of you for an informative and engaging panel session. We are proud to have brought together such an amazing group of individuals to speak about Lived Experiences: Listening, Learning, and Acting. I am certain that your discussion was greatly appreciated by the over 320 who attended on June 15th to learn about issues related to Cultivating Accessible Educational Pathways and Spaces.

Your expertise and insights were invaluable, and we are so grateful for the time and effort that you put into preparing and delivering your remarks. 
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If you know everything, you are not learning

 Something Professor Carissa Cascio shared with the lab today. So appropriate. 


Also accompanied by a message encouraging us to "be confident in asking questions and not worried about what they don't know. If you already know everything, you're not learning!"

Thank you for this assurance cuz my rather atypical educational path leaves me wondering (more often than not) if there are things I have missed out (through the typical NT education path,  NT social experiences/interactions/networking) which is now maybe impacting my knowledge and work. 



ASSERT ECHO @Vandy

I have been a participant in the Assert (All Stakeholders Engage in Research Together) project this semester, run by Prof Beth Malow's Sleep Lab.  https://www.vumc.org/sleep-in-autism/assert-resources


Its been a good experience, listening to everyone's perspective and being able to contribute, though I could not make last few sessions as it clashed with the new meetings at my new lab rotation.

The disability rights mantra has long centered around Nothing about us without us. And I am glad that to see this idea trickling down with respect to research which will (hopefully) lead us to solutions. And this effort is at happening at many places now - at universities and research centers. 

If you are an autistic, please do consider getting involved by emailing assert@vumc.org. It is important that our voices are heard. 


Grandma at Vandy

Saroja Paati (Grandma) visiting from India
and a visit to Vandy
A proud and beaming grandma at the Frist Center and outside my office space at the LASR Research Lab.


 

Cellular Neuroscience grade

I made an A in this super tough Cell Neuroscience course, filled with baffling weekly quizzes; a course which consumed most of my life this semester. 
OMG. 

 

Jon Stewart at Vanderbilt.

Great way to end my First Year of Grad School. 
A talk on HealthCare Advocacy by the amazing Jon Stewart in Langford Auditorium
Lots of takeaways, will write about them later. 



 

Easter Egg Hunt.

Had a great time at the Easter Egg Hunt organized by lab-mate Kimmy. Lots of student turn-out at Fannie Mae Park. The kids taking part sure had fun collecting eggs. 

Anxiety in ASD

Went for a guest lecture by Dr. Trenesha Hill, Asst Prof at U Nebraska Medical Center. 



What caught my attention was atypical/autistic anxiety (vs non-autistic-anxiety) as being related to core characters of Autism. Especially the suggestion that hypersensitivity (ie: sensory differences) was a main factor distinguishing autistic-anxiety from non-autistic anxiety. Totally worth investigating the sensory aspect which I wish this study had done. 

Curious Incident of Dog in Nightime

LASR lab outing today to see the Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime at TPAC. 

Protagonist is a Brit autistic teen. The first half was a little emotionally tense and bit upsetting, was almost going to leave during intermission. Second half led to good ending though. 




Lets critique Media Representation of Autism -  since the character is autistic