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What is your name?<\/strong><\/p>\n Danielle Lauren Kurtin<\/p>\n Where are you from?<\/strong><\/p>\n A sleepy fishing town called Stuart, in Florida, USA<\/p>\n To which class you belong to?<\/strong><\/p>\n MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2019<\/p>\n Where and what did you study before joining Imperial College London?<\/strong><\/p>\n I completed my BSc in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry at Florida State University in hopes of attending medical school. During the long application period to medical school, I worked in Amsterdam at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. Inspired by the neuroscience research I was exposed to, I wanted to continue on a research trajectory, and applied to the MSc Translational Neuroscience!<\/p>\n How did you find your\u00a0Master\u00a0experience at the College?<\/strong><\/p>\n Inspiring, deeply educational, and transformative<\/p>\n Which research project did you work on?<\/strong><\/p>\n I worked with Dr Lucia Li in the Computational, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL). I explored specific parameters of a tool called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to patients with traumatic brain injury<\/p>\n Where are you now?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I am now completing my PhD at the University of Surrey, in partnership with Imperial College London<\/p>\n What are you working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n I am working on many projects! I have developed a cognitive task to collect behavioral data online before performing neuroimaging experiments with EEG and fMRI. I am writing a review on different models of neural network dynamics. I organize the Monthly Mini Hacks (MMH) workshops through the Surrey Reproducibility Society. I also contribute to the \u2018Adapt to Postgrad\u2019 online pre-arrival course for incoming Faculty of Medicine Master\u2019s students commencing study at the College<\/p>\n What is the most important lesson you learnt as a\u00a0Master\u00a0student?<\/strong> How did the Master programme help you get to where you are now?<\/strong><\/p>\n My Master program helped me in several ways. I was taught by scientists and clinicians who are leaders in their field. I learnt the practical skills necessary to conduct research, especially for fMRI data analysis: there is no substitute for practical experience, and my project definitely provided a rich learning experience. In addition to this, it was the first exposure I had to the University structure. I was grateful to be a class representative, and subsequently, one of the Postgraduate Representatives for the Faculty of Medicine Board of Education. This allowed me to observe and learn how an educational institution is developed, guided, and supported by academics dedicated to providing a stellar education to their postgraduates students. Last, but certainly not least, my Master is what confirmed I wanted to pursue a career in academia, and the reason I am now completing my PhD!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Picture credit: Andy Pritchard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is your name? Danielle Lauren Kurtin Where are you from? A sleepy fishing town called Stuart, in Florida, USA To which class you belong to? MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2019 Where and what did you study before joining Imperial College London? I completed my BSc in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48173],"tags":[292455,292454,292452,292453],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-alumni-brains","tag-master","tag-neuroscience","tag-translational-neuroscience"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nGetting comfortable with being uncomfortable. During my MSc, I learned how to be comfortable despite not knowing all the answers, tear my results apart to make sure they are rock-solid, and learn more every day<\/p>\n