Fall 2020
Aubrey Marie Mys is a Sophomore at the University of Florida in the University Scholars Program. Her research project is entitled: Virtual Human Colorectal Cancer Screening Intervention Comparing and Coding the African American and Caucasian Data Sets. When she’s not working on her research under Dr. Janice Krieger at the College of Journalism and Communications, she can be found on campus working with the Beyond 120 Young Professionals Communications Committee. Learn more about Aubrey’s research project and her plans for the future below.
Summary of Research Project: The purpose of this study is to develop and qualitatively test via focus groups and one-on-one interviews a tailored intervention utilizing virtual human technology (VHT) to improve communication with rural and ethnic/racial minority patients and increase CRC screening to help show the differences between Caucasian and African American and to help to bring awareness of the health disparities between the two communities. to better improve and evaluate translational communication interventions. To better equip various stakeholders in the healthcare field with improving the translation of science.
Why did you get started in undergraduate research? The medical field has always fascinated me. I wanted the opportunity to understand more what research was and how its benefits fields and the process. I remember I started searching for opportunities and saw the position available to study the sexual differences in our cognitive abilities and got the position it fascinated me the process of research and how it was conducted.
How has your research experience shaped your undergraduate career Research has shown me how much I enjoy research, it is constantly learning and trying to understand questions that we have about life and the ways things work. It also involves improving people’s lives and that is something I want to do in my career. It has also shown me that I can continue to work hard I can make opportunities for myself in life and that research helps to build lifelong connections. It has also inspired me to continue to work hard despite my circumstances and continue to show my son that you keep going no matter what and can shape your life into what you want it to be.
What advice would you give someone interested in undergraduate research? Advice that I would give someone interested in undergraduate research is to reach out to a professor who has a project in a field you are interested in it never hurts to try and make a connection. I would also recommend being open to learning. You might not have a lot of experience in research – I had none when I applied for my first research position, but I was open to learning and I showed that willingness to learn and wanting to help. Always try and work hard in whatever you do in the research field and it will show.
What are your plans for the future? My plans for my future are to go on to graduate school and continue my education. I am also hoping to continue my research as an undergraduate student and I am currently working on a thesis paper noting the sexual difference between white females and white males in how they perceive figures in the health care field.
