The January Review
Top Three Highlights of the Month
We are officially in the year 2024, and I am excited about what it will hold. However, life is filled with highs and lows, and I expect there to be plenty of those as I continue navigating life as a graduate student and a young adult. This month marks another opportunity for starting fresh, and I wonder how I will grow in the coming year. In the last blog, I discussed some of my New Year’s resolutions that I’d like to focus on. This blog will highlight some hopeful early progress toward these resolutions.
1. Putting Out my First Research Paper
One of the early highlights of the month was celebrating my first research paper as a scientist. While this paper is still under review, it marks a significant milestone in my professional career. The work focused on utilizing all available patient health histories to predict various outcomes in the Emergency Department, such as hospital admission, ICU requirement, discharge location, etc. While I am satisfied with the effort and work I put into this project, I recognize there is ample room for growth in addressing more pertinent questions within the medical context.
In addition to this exciting news, one of the gratifying aspects of developing methodologies is the ability to name one’s work. Therefore, as a first pass, I decided to name my work the MEME model, which stands for Multiple Embedding Model for EHR. This will always remain a memorable moment for me as it represents my initial foray into making a novel contribution in the field of clinical/medical informatics.
In other words, while I look forward to completing other projects in the field, I am continually seeking ways to improve. The challenge of a Ph.D. lies in demonstrating academic prowess while also acknowledging the vast expanse of knowledge yet to be explored. For a long time, I avoided delving into mathematics due to its perceived complexity, but I have recently come to terms with the fact that mathematics is a universal language understood by all disciplines. Therefore, in all my future work, I aim to incorporate a stronger mathematical foundation to elucidate and enhance the significance of my research both in its application and mechanics.
While there are still things to sort out, I am happy to know that I have made my appearance on Google Scholar.
You can also read my pre-print paper here
2. Simple Living
The second highlight of the month is reflecting on the transition of returning to an academic environment. While it was ultimately my decision to go back to school, I hadn’t anticipated that the transition would necessitate sacrificing my adventurous side. My perception of time and age seems to be a bit skewed because since returning, I’ve been primarily focused on looking toward the future to motivate myself to produce quality work and depart as soon as possible. However, the most challenging aspect of returning to school has been feeling confined to a singular place.
The year 2023 was certainly an anomaly compared to the rest of my life, so readjusting to reality has presented its challenges. While the idea of stability, having a home, and being in a familiar environment is appealing, I do find myself missing the excitement of exploring the world and discovering new experiences. It’s almost as if I’ve retired from a life of adventure…
These days, I find myself following a routine: work, rinse, and repeat, with the same traditional schedule almost every day. It has been a different experience, to say the least. I cling to this routine in hopes that better days lie ahead, adhering to the advice my father once gave me. He told me that if I work hard when I’m young, I’ll feel free for the rest of my life. Since I don’t currently feel that sense of freedom, it seems I’ll need to put in even more effort in the years to come.
However, I’ve recently picked up the hobby of exploring the diverse culinary scene across Los Angeles with my girlfriend, Collette. This month, we visited Pizzana in Brentwood, which turned out to be one of the most amazing Italian restaurants I’ve ever experienced. While dining out in Los Angeles may come with a premium price tag, I firmly believe it’s well worth it to partake in the rich food culture that defines this city.
3. Better Health
During this month, I also went for my first doctor’s check-up in nearly 4 years. Due to the pandemic, I hadn’t visited a physician for quite some time and was long overdue for a physical. I was nervous that I might receive some concerning diagnoses, given my history of being unlucky in this regard. Therefore, I underwent a thorough evaluation of my body, examining my physical health and organ functionality through various sample tests. To my surprise, I was deemed healthy on all fronts (I was particularly concerned about diabetes…).
While I am healthy, I aspire to be even healthier. After enduring a very unhealthy fall quarter of skipping two meals a day, not exercising, and working extreme hours, I am determined to become a better and healthier version of myself. Hence, I have reintegrated a gym routine that I initially started during my time in Boston with my friend Michael Iglesias. Despite nearly a year apart, it felt somewhat ironic to realize that the beginning of the year is always when I am most motivated to prioritize my physical health. However, this time around, my goal is to sustain this regimen and achieve the summer body I have long envisioned. Currently, I go to the gym on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and I’ve been consistent for one month in this endeavor. I hope to maintain this routine despite my busy schedule and will continue to provide updates on my progress in this regard.
One thing I learned this Month
Academia is kind of depressing
While it has been an extreme privilege and honor to be a graduate student, it has also been somewhat morbid and depressing to witness the darker themes of academia. One of the saddest aspects of academia is the self-centric mindset, where individuals prioritize their own work over others’. I often observe faculty and students neglecting speakers or fellow researchers to focus solely on their own projects, and it makes me question the healthiness of such an environment. Now that I have my own paper published, I do take pride in my work, but I don’t believe it should define my success or failure. I am interested in many topics, but witnessing this self-centric attitude, where people disregard the work of others, has been disheartening, to say the least.
Quote of the Monthly
Live Dangerously Carefully - Joshua Halderman
Contact
Simon Lee
simonlee711@gmail.com
simonlee711@g.ucla.edu