Undergraduate

Ashley Michelle Aldridge

Year

Focus

Health and Human Biology

Major/concentration and Graduation Year.

Health and Human Biology, 2018      

Where are you from?

Clarence, New York

What were your academic interests in high school?

My academic interests in high school were primarily rooted in the biological sciences. However, I also very much enjoyed studying mathematics, history, English literature, and religion.

What is your favorite activity outside of the classroom?

My favorite activity outside of the classroom is volunteering, specifically at the Hasbro Children's Hospital through Project Sunshine, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping to restore a sense of normalcy to the lives of children and their families facing medical challenges.

Why did you decide to pursue research in brain science?

I decided to pursue research in brain science, specifically at Brown University, because of a summer experience that I was very privileged to have back home in Buffalo, New York. During the summer after my high school sophomore year, I shadowed and worked under the supervision of physicians and researchers at the Jacob's Institute, investigating restenosis rates in carotid artery stents. This research lead to a manuscript that was recently published. Subsequently, an opportunity to carry out research with a medical student from The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University regarding traumatic brain injury and, specifically, subdural hemorrhage came to my attention, and having had such a positive experience that previous summer, I interviewed for the position.

What research project and laboratory did you work in?

The project I worked on is entitled, "Impact of Physiologic Factors on the Progression of Acute Traumatic Subdural Hemorrhage." I worked in the Department of Neurosurgery in the laboratory of Dr. Wael Asaad.

What is your most memorable experience from your training in brain science?

The most memorable experience from my training in brain science was in a very involved collaborative meeting with the other members of my research team. We met in the Rhode Island Hospital Imaging Research and Education Service (HI-RES) 3D Lab, the location where we conducted most of our research and measurements for the project. We went through a variety of cases, discussing patient pathologies and computerized tomography scans and laying out standardization procedures to ensure that our data was accurate. I simply remember feeling a collective interest in, investment in, and dedication to the work that we were doing and acknowledging that the research could somehow impact the field, even if in only a minute way.

What have you learned from this experience that you are applying to other aspects of your Brown degree?

This experience provided me with some neuroscience and neurosurgical imaging background and knowledge that I am now applying toward the research that I am conducting in preparation for the completion of my Honors Thesis Project.

What would you like to do after graduating?

After graduating, I anticipate attending The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and completing my degree in medicine.