Nina McCurdy

I started working at ELLICSR last summer as a research assistant for Dr. Jennifer Jones. I had just completed my undergraduate degree in Cognitive Science, so Dr. Jones’ interests in psychosocial oncology and psychiatry drew me to ELLICSR. Throughout the summer, I enjoyed a range of research experiences, such as working on literature reviews, writing applications for the Research Ethics Board, recruiting patients, as well as collecting and analyzing data. I also had the opportunity to participate in the Institute of Medical Science’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program, which included weekly seminars and a poster day at the end of the summer, where I presented my work on Dr. Jones’ study on proxy ratings. My interactions with Palliative Care patients and their caregivers for this study were particularly helpful preparation for my first year at medical school.

Since I had such a great experience with Dr. Jones last year, I returned to ELLICSR this summer to continue working as a research assistant. After learning about multidisciplinary healthcare teams in medical school, working at ELLICSR has allowed me to observe these teams in action, as well as assist them with a range of research projects. So far, my time at ELLICSR has provided me with invaluable research and clinical experience. Dr. Jones and the team at ELLICSR are all passionate about their work and happy to do whatever they can to help students learn, so working here has been a wonderful experience.

- Nina McCurdy