Working with the ICDCU bioinformatics lab on HIRConnect — a research project management system for Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Co-authored a paper and won "Excellence in Research Communication" at the USS.
Being a computer science student, biomedical research is not something that I really expected to get involved in. However, the motivation to explore new ventures and procure knowledge pushed me to apply for this program. I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the ICDCU bioinformatics lab during the mentorship program where I got worked on a research project management system developed for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
My time in the lab proved to be enlightening and fruitful. Commencing with a comprehensive introduction to basic research practices, I was immersed in a world of scientific literature and research papers. Engaging in tasks such as reviewing papers and delivering presentations on various research topics, I gradually honed my understanding of the research process itself. These foundational training exercises not only equipped me with invaluable knowledge but also served as a gateway into the world of research.
After my brief training period, I worked with the research team and collaborated with the tech team to develop a research project management system for a pediatric health institute using a user-centered design and agile software development principles. The research project management system for the academic hospital would help manage the vast number of clinical research that takes place. Since such research projects have various financial and time constraints, the project management system aims to help the research project by allocating the limited resources effectively and ensuring the completion of the project.
To build such an application, the research and development team worked closely with the health institutions in developing a system that supported the workflow of the institution and had minimal usability issues. By working with the HIRC staff, we developed prototypes of the application and conducted several one-on-one usability testing sessions to ensure that the application was easily accessible and usable. I worked on fixing the usability issues faced by the users and improving the accessibility and user interface of the portal.
While involved in the development work, I was also involved in usability testing research for the same project, and demonstrating the best method to develop such complex applications by using agile software development principles and user-centered design. I worked on co-authoring a research paper and a podium presentation which was submitted to AMIA 2023 conference. Furthermore, I made a poster and presented the poster at the Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase for which I was awarded "Excellence in Research Communication".
My experience at the USS 2023 exposed me to fellow research students and their work. This inspired me to continue working on such a research project.
