feb24 | visiting labs @harvard + making memories with new (& old) friends
welcome to your latest (ironically also late) edition of 'Inside Lauren's Brain' delivered via compliments by my caffeinated & curious mind.
new here? 👀 - If so, welcome! 👋
& for those returning, thanks for sticking with me! 🥹 🥳
hello readers! I’m lauren, studying human bio/neuroscience @uoft while exploring neuro-onc and artificial intelligence. aside from my nerdy endeavours, I enjoy working out, coffee chats and (check out my previous projects, click here.)
… did you miss last month’s recap? no problem ;) → click here for my jan24 newsletter!
feb24 newsletter tldr ⬇️
biotech (ai x neuro-onc) projects updates
a recap of my trip to explore the Boston biotech scene (s/o my c house friends, @ max newlon & more)
+ a quick sneak peek for what’s to come ;)
… w/o further ado, let’s dive into it, shall we?
(pt1)👩🏼🔬 🔬 💻 biotech (ai x neuro-onc) project updates
lately, I’ve been working on strengthening my technical depth in deep learning, explicitly surrounding multimodal prognostics w/SSL to improve the treatment & diagnosis of HGGs (aka high-grade gliomas).
so far, this has looked a little something like this…
✅ creating a digital compilation of my learnings/insights on YouTube with my research paper YT series (research EXPLAINED...)
^ also wanted to say that I was initially inspired from
’s reading research papers at 3am series ;)✅ countless nights spent going down intellectual rabbit holes 🐰
this started primarily out of curiosity but also part of my attempt to allow myself to feel even more confused & ponder about possible alternative perspectives (or) approaches. while the timing for this was typically a result of my procrastination, I feel so privileged to spend the last hours of the day dedicated to simply exploring my (current) favourite area of scientific research.
especially amid school demands + other areas, I’m trying to be more intentional about how I use my time - not necessarily having a meticulously planned out hour-by-hour gcal but rather ensuring that I stay present + intentional about how spend this time for my overall self-development.
(pt2) 🧳 🇺🇸 exploring boston's biotech scene
A city speaks to you mostly by accident — in things you see through windows, in conversations you overhear.
^ my favourite excerpt from Paul Graham’s “Cities and Ambitions” essay
It’s safe to say that when Cambridge spoke, I listened.
in addition to reading neuro-onc x ai papers, during my winter semester reading break, I travelled to Boston to visit some research labs relevant to my interests. I met up with some old (and new) friends + mentors.
as dramatic as this sounds, before this trip - and significantly growing up as an avid science nerd I was completely oblivious to the idea that I would be able to find other nerds like myself.
I could’ve never imagined that the place where I felt least like an imposter would have also been the birthplace of some of the world’s most profound ideas.
some gratitudes ⬇️
🗣️ s/o to Lucas chu + Lillian (& all the c house peeps)
thank you so much for hosting me while I was in town ;) I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality and kindness, which made me feel at home.
also ^ 🗣️ s/o Vik for ur top-tier music taste and impromptu math lessons at 11 pm
🗣️ s/o to max newlon
for taking the time to meet with me during my trip during my trip
+ all of your continued guidance and mentorship with my projects are things that I’m very grateful for!
thank you for believing in me even when I don’t believe in myself.
pt3) 🔮 what’s up next?
my trip to Boston gave me some much-needed certainty about what direction I wanted to take with my projects. I’d be lying if I said this has been easy to recreate this.
I’m taking this as a glimmer of hope and excitement for my future projects as I continue building out my competency in deep learning (i.e., building foundation models and applications that have clinical relevance). I’m working hard to immerse myself in other like-minded and cool people.
**Also, note - this newsletter entry was being posted quite late - granted that it was supposed to be for February - trying to embrace the done > perfect mindset ;)
check back next week (april 1) for my march recap ;) where you can expect…
find out an exciting announcement of mine ;)
more project updates w/ my deep learning & ml technical skill development
& more…
as always, stay curious & kind - lauren ✌🏻
last note: I’d love to hear your thoughts + feedback, etc.
if you’d like to get in touch w/me, send me msg at laurenapearsonn@gmail.com ;)