Student Research Spotlight: Taylor Reinsel (Biology)

Taylor Reinsel is a senior Biology major with minors in Psychology, Pre-Health, and Honors Transdisciplinary Studies. 

 

Briefly talk me through your research journey from your 1st day at NSU to today. 

 

I originally got involved in research through trial and error. During my freshman year at NSU, I looked through the different kinds of research that current professors were doing, and I showed up at their office to talk to them about it. I have always been interested in attention and memory, having done a project on the Reliability of Eye-Witness testimony for the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science in high school, so I thought that I would be a great place to start. Dr Boucher and Dr Collins were currently working on SPAML (Semantic Priming Across Many Languages) Study, and they offered me a spot to work with them collecting data. After this, I began working with them for other research projects involving data from the COPE (COVID-19 Participant Experience Survey) run by the NIH, which is currently in the process of peer review. This research led me to work on my current project, my Honors Thesis, alongside Dr. Collins and Dr. Boucher, entitled “Resilience and its Effects on Psychological Well Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic”, which I will defend during this Winter. 

 

 

What made you interested in the type of research you are currently working on? 

Psychology is a strong interest of mine, as well as the concept of resilience. Resilience is defined as what makes certain people flourish, even when they have faced adversity within their own life. I think this is a very important question, and, if answered, it could help those who suffer from mental illness achieve a better quality of life. My interest in psychological research, and resilience in particular, comes from this goal. I hope that one day my research could help to lead to intervention programs and new therapy techniques to help people. 

 

What made you decide to work with your current research mentor? 

Originally, Dr Boucher and Dr Collins simply had similar psychological research goals to what I was interested in, which made me want to visit them in their offices to see how I could get involved. However, their kind attitude and willingness to help me throughout each of our research projects together is what led me to want to continue to do research with them, and to have them as my advisors for my honors thesis. 

 

 

How does this work relate to your future career goals and what do you plan to do next? 

I want to be a doctor. I believe that the world of mental health and positive psychology is severely neglected within the medical community. Within my own mindset in medicine, I believe in looking at the whole person: body, mind, and soul, when treating someone. I hope that this research will allow me to better serve my patients in the future through a better understanding of not only their physical symptoms, but also their psychological wellbeing as well. 

 

How has NSU helped you pursue and/or achieve personal and professional goals you have set for yourself? Any specific NSU resources used that you would like to mention? 

NSU has given me so many resources that has helped in my success. One specific area that I want to mention my gratitude towards is the Honors College. The Honors College has helped me gain the resources and support needed to complete my thesis, as well as the opportunity to do one at all through their Honors Thesis Program. 

 

What advice do you have for other students interested in getting involved in research? 

I think there are three main pieces of advice to follow when going into research. First, be proactive and reach out. It can feel overwhelming coming to NSU and finding research opportunities, but they are out there! However, they will not just come to you or fall into your lap. You may receive many denials before you get an opportunity, and that’s okay. You must put in the work and be genuinely interested in the research you want to do. That brings me to my second piece of advice: love what you do. If you are not genuinely interested in your research, choose something you are interested in. You will be spending lots of time within your specific niche area of information, so if it doesn’t intrigue you, that can become a problem a while down the line. Lastly: you can do so much more than you think you are capable of. Freshman year, I never thought that I would be able to complete an honors thesis on data containing over 100,000 participants, learn how to code, or talk at on-campus events about my work, but I am doing it every day now! Believe in yourself and you can do anything you put your mind to.