What brought you to join the miRcore Volunteer Program?
I joined miRcore after taking the computational biology summer camp in the summer after 8th grade. I had a sincere interest in biology in my middle school science classes so saw the computational biology camp as an opportunity to further explore my interests.
How were you elected as President/Vice President? Was it a role that you intended to occupy from the start, or was it a decision made later on during your MVP involvement?
I was elected in my Junior Year. I really enjoyed my miRcore experience freshman and sophomore year and was incredibly grateful for the opportunities and upperclassmen who mentored me. Thus, I wanted to further contribute to the miRcore mission, which led me to run in the election.
Out of all your contributions to the miRcore Volunteer Program, could you list a few that stood out?
- Helped with recruitment and outreach – Several students at South East michigan high schools were interested in genetic research but were not aware of miRcore and GIDAS.
- Helped create and finalize lesson plans that cater to the needs of both inexperienced and experienced students for weekly meetings.
- Served as a Teaching assistant at yearly computational biology summer camps.
- Helped lead the genes and health contest and the yearly research conference.
Any advice for future MVP Presidents/Vice Presidents?
My principle advice is to keep your memories and experiences at miRcore when you first joined at the forefront of your decisions as a leader in miRcore. It is important to understand what the newer students may need help with and to make sure they get access to the help and resources that they will need. Also, have fun! miRcore is a truly exceptional community of brilliant students and the longitudinal friendships you build over 4 years will certainly continue even once you head off to college!
Please give your favorite inspirational quote!
Find what you are passionate about in life. Then, find out what you are good at. When you find an overlap, dial in!
Is there any additional info you would like to add about yourself?
I’m currently a senior at the University of Michigan studying Biology and Business. My research journey post-miRcore has continued into college, where I have worked in 4 different labs. My primary research has been focused on developing ways to better diagnose and therapeutically monitor pediatric brain cancer through minimally invasive liquid biopsies of cerebrospinal fluid and blood.
Alumni Spotlight: Karthik Ravi
What brought you to join the miRcore Volunteer Program?
Originally, I was drawn to miRcore because of my interest in scientific research. However, as I gained experience and got to know other volunteers better, I came to enjoy the community-building and outreach aspects of the program just as much as, if not more than, the research and educational aspects.
How were you elected as President/Vice President? Was it a role that you intended to occupy from the start, or was it a decision made later on during your MVP involvement?
I definitely did not anticipate or plan out becoming President. It was a much more non-linear path than that. My involvement in miRcore gradually deepened over time, through my involvement in various committees, the summer camps, and taking on more leadership roles in volunteer meetings, such as teaching and presenting. Whenever I saw a project in any aspect of the organization that looked interesting, I joined in. Eventually, I arrived at a point where running for President seemed like a natural next step to contribute to this organization, once I had really built a sense of community and felt confident in my current roles.
During your tenure, were there any hardships/challenging periods that you encountered? And how did you respond to them?
There were many challenges, from organizing big events like the Stamp Show Fundraiser to maintaining cohesion when we moved fully online during COVID. I would say the most important thing that got me through all of these periods was relying on the help of the rest of the board and Dr. Lee. Being miRcore Volunteer Program President is definitely not a job that exists in isolation!
Out of all your contributions to the miRcore Volunteer Program, could you list a few that stood out?
- I’m really proud of my efforts to update the GIDAS Care Package with resources for all miRcore members and GIDAS members related to research, fundraising, and educational outreach. I hope future generations of volunteers continue to improve upon this work, which I myself inherited from previous generations of volunteers.
- I’m also proud of how we handled the transition to a fully online format during COVID lockdown in spring 2020, and still managed to maintain a sense of community and successfully hold meetings and events.
Please give your favorite inspirational quote!
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde
Alumni Spotlight: Eleanor Lin
What brought you to join the miRcore Volunteer Program?
I first heard of the miRcore Volunteer Program through my sister (Natsume), who was previously in the program. However, I wasn’t involved with MVP until I attended the R Programming Camp. While the content was challenging to learn, I enjoyed the experience and the community, and so I decided to try out MVP!
How were you elected as President/Vice President? Was it a role that you intended to occupy from the start, or was it a decision made later on during your MVP involvement?
I was elected as president at the end of the 2019-20 volunteering year. That time, the election process consisted of an application that included questions about our qualifications, what we wanted to do in that position, and how we would collaborate to accomplish our goals. From there, four of the applicants were selected to give speeches to all MVP members, who would then vote for one of them.
I hadn’t really considered running to be MVP President until later on in my junior year. I didn’t think I would get the position, especially since I hadn’t been an officer beforehand, but I had a variety of ideas for expanding MVP and wondered if I could try to help implement them.
During your tenure, were there any hardships/challenging periods that you encountered? And how did you respond to them?
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed all of our meetings that year to be virtual, so we needed to figure out how to do meetings and events completely online. For example, we conducted our workshop for middle schoolers, and shifted its focus to finding cancer mutations, which we could do purely online. However, we were unable to do certain events, such as our fundraiser at the Ann Arbor Stamp Show.
Out of all your contributions to the miRcore Volunteer Program, could you list a few that stood out?
One of my main contributions when I was President was trying to expand MVP’s presence outwards by contacting news outlets, teachers, and influencers. While I didn’t get too many responses back, I was able to gather a good list of contacts that we could reach out to in the future, and we prepared email templates for volunteers to use in the future.
Any advice for future MVP Presidents/Vice Presidents?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether from fellow officers, previous MVP leaders, or Dr. Lee! It’s a role that carries a lot of responsibility, but it’s not one that you have to figure out alone. Also, try not to lose sight of the big picture when you’re working on projects, and break them into smaller chunks to make them easier to take on!
Please give your favorite inspirational quote!
Per aspera ad astra (Latin for “Through hardships to the stars”)
Is there any additional info you would like to add about yourself?
I’m current a first-year student at Princeton University studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Alumni Spotlight: Mori Ono
What brought you to join the miRcore Volunteer Program?
I joined the miRcore program after my first camp in 2014 and absolutely adored the mission of bridging the gap between the general public and scientists through high school students. miRcore taught me that I could make a difference in the world of science simply by raising awareness. I also learned very young what it meant to do research but also how to communicate research to people in layman terms so people stay connected to science. I owe much of my interest in science and research to miRcore.
How were you elected as President/Vice President? Was it a role that you intended to occupy from the start, or was it a decision made later on during your MVP involvement?
I was elected to be President my senior year of high school after I occupied the role of GIDAS Director my junior year. It was a sort of spur of the moment decision my junior year to run for GIDAS Director and I was encouraged by my younger peers to run. I was so grateful for that position and I worked to create the GIDAS club care package that is still robust and useful to this day. Running for president was fairly natural for me to do and I was excited for miRcore every week.
During your tenure, were there any hardships/challenging periods that you encountered? And how did you respond to them?
I don’t quite remember if there was anything that was challenging but I remember that while I was GIDAS Director, I found that many GIDAS clubs had difficulty starting and growing so I worked with my committee to make the GIDAS care package that all the clubs contributed to which helped the GIDAS program grow.
Out of all your contributions to the miRcore Volunteer Program, could you list a few that stood out?
I would say the GIDAS Care Package, my work with miRcore research groups, and my own research in miRcore would be my biggest contribution. As a college student prior to and after COVID, I served as a TA and was (I think) very impactful on my students in whom I helped foster a love and understanding for computational and R programming based research.
Any advice for future MVP Presidents/Vice Presidents?
I would say work closely with Dr. Lee to adapt new topics of research into miRcore and begin to raise awareness about the importance of their role in the program.
Please give your favorite inspirational quote!
“Do what you love and it isn’t work”
Is there any additional info you would like to add about yourself?
I am a junior at MIT majoring in Biological Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering! I’ve worked with miRcore for close to 6 years now and I am so proud of the progress the program has made and I am happy to talk to anyone who reaches out.
Alumni Spotlight: Bhuvna Murthy
What brought you to join the miRcore Volunteer Program?
Eagerness to learn and apply myself outside to a bigger cause
How were you elected as President/Vice President? Was it a role that you intended to occupy from the start, or was it a decision made later on during your MVP involvement?
I definitely didn’t plan on it! But I started to get much more involved and committed, and liked the feeling of being reliable to others. I felt that I could contribute good ideas and follow through to make them happen. I also became good friends with other board members and students, and was excited to work with them to improve MVP.
During your tenure, were there any hardships/challenging periods that you encountered? And how did you respond to them?
Yes, there were a few weeks where I consistently had a conflict with MVP and Nutcracker rehearsals. It was really difficult to lead without being there in person, but I made sure to plan ahead and communicate with other leaders. Delegating tasks and planning executable steps was essential for making things run smoothly.
Out of all your contributions to the miRcore Volunteer Program, could you list a few that stood out?
I helped organize some fundraisers like the Stamps Show and music busking. I reached out to a lab I had worked in to invite a speaker who we eventually fundraised for while researching opioid addiction.
Any advice for future MVP Presidents/Vice Presidents?
Really get to know the members and facilitate a close community. It’s such a cool experience to work with students from all around the country. Don’t be afraid to reach out and tackle big agendas.
Please give your favorite inspirational quote!
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
Alumni Spotlight: Rhea Cong
