40 Reflection on Undergraduate Research Experience – Jada Kali Stelmach

Faculty Mentor: Hilary Coon (Psychiatry, University of Utah)

My undergraduate research experience has taught me a lot about the process of starting a study, analyzing the results, and communicating the results through writing and presenting. Before I did UROP, I did not know how to do a proper literature search or write an effective proposal. I was able to strengthen my skills in statistics, having to do many analyses and computations. I also learned more about genetics in psychiatric conditions, something that I haven’t learned much about in my regular psychology and biology classes. I also had multiple opportunities outside of UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) such as performing skin biopsies, aliquoting DNA for sequencing projects, and going to the medical examiner’s office for autopsies. As I want to go into psychiatry for my career, this experience was rewarding and will prepare me for future research projects in the field.