Bryan Medina 麻豆精品 S�21 is deeply intrigued by memories 麻豆精品 S� both capturing them and understanding what triggers us to relive them.
麻豆精品 S淯CF gave me the ability to learn how to learn and taught me how to be more empathetic. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S� Bryan Medina 麻豆精品 S�21
The computer science major who earned his bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 from UCF this semester was born and raised in Miami, where music and dancing play a huge role in the community.
麻豆精品 S淚 noticed that music kind of supports or brings back memories of those times, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淢usic also helps me remember not only the good times, but some of the bad times, and a wide range of experiences. I wondered, what is it about music, or at least sounds in general, that give rise to this ability to remember or be nostalgic about past experiences? 麻豆精品 S�
This question fuels his current research at the Laboratory for Computational Audition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He will pursue a Ph.D. in brain and cognitive sciences at the Cambridge school beginning this fall, as both a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and MIT 麻豆精品 S檚 Dean of Science Fellow. Medina has spent the past year working remotely at the lab under MIT Associate Professor Josh McDermott, using artificial intelligence to better understand how humans process sounds.
麻豆精品 S淏ryan is an excellent student, and so came in with strong quantitative training and professional work habits, 麻豆精品 S� McDermott says. 麻豆精品 S淗e completed one of the most successful undergraduate summer projects we 麻豆精品 S檝e had and was able to give a very clear presentation at the end of the summer on his work. 麻豆精品 S� Less than a year after I met him, he is now quite fluent in cutting-edge research in our field, which is impressive. 麻豆精品 S�
Transformational Moments
While Medina 麻豆精品 S檚 future in neuroscience has recently become more cemented, it certainly isn 麻豆精品 S檛 what he predicted he 麻豆精品 S檇 be doing even a few years ago.
Through his junior year in high school, he planned to pursue music. He plays both the saxophone and the guitar, and played in his school band and took lessons at the University of Miami. Then his senior year, he signed up for two courses 麻豆精品 S� one in computer science and one in robotics 麻豆精品 S� that would alter the course of his life. Through those classes, he discovered a love of programming and figuring out how to make things work.
Growing up in what he describes as a financially insecure environment, Medina also figured a career in the computer science industry would mean more security for him and his family.
麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 the main reason why I pursued computer science at UCF, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淚 wasn’t thinking about neuroscience at that point in time. I was just making a conscious decision for my future. 麻豆精品 S�
The next big shift would come during his junior year at UCF, when he was doing an internship at Carnegie Mellon and discovered a love of neuroscience that would prompt him to add a minor and take an extra year to graduate.
麻豆精品 S淭hat was my first exposure ever to neuroscience, 麻豆精品 S� Medina says. 麻豆精品 S淎t the end of that experience, I realized that neuroscience was for me, but I needed a little bit more time to sort of learn neuroscience and be competitive for graduate programs. As a result of pushing my graduation by a year, I was able to do so many things, including working at MIT. 麻豆精品 S�
Finding a Community at UCF
Medina admits that though his family is supportive of him, they still don 麻豆精品 S檛 fully understand the work he 麻豆精品 S檚 doing now.
His parents immigrated to the United States before Medina was born, and while both had attended college, they both also had to drop out to move to Florida 麻豆精品 S� his mom from the Dominican Republic and his dad from Nicaragua. Medina is the youngest of three children and his parents were too busy raising them and trying to make ends meet to ever go back to school. This semester, he became the first in his family to earn a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree, and he 麻豆精品 S檚 aware of the sacrifices his family has made to get him here and how proud they are of him.
麻豆精品 S淢y family has definitely been supportive, even though they don 麻豆精品 S檛 understand completely what I 麻豆精品 S檓 doing, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭hey have always supported me, regardless of the endeavor, all throughout my life. When I knew I wanted to do music, they were the ones that took me to University of Miami to take lessons every Saturday and dropped me off at the train station on Mondays to go to band rehearsals. I 麻豆精品 S檓 indebted to them. 麻豆精品 S�
Medina is quick to realize that though the accomplishments are his own, he wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be where he is today without the support of and guidance from so many people along the way, beginning with his family.
麻豆精品 S淎t UCF, there’s a huge laundry list of people who I am forever indebted to, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
There 麻豆精品 S檚 Associate Professor of Mathematics Brian Moore, who taught two of the math courses Medina took early on at UCF. The two still catch up every other week over coffee. There 麻豆精品 S檚 Melissa Dagley 麻豆精品 S�09EdD, executive director of and the that he participated in, and the entire Academic Advancement team, including Director Michael Aldarondo-Jeffries and Assistant Director Natalia Toro 麻豆精品 S�17EdD, who oversees the that he 麻豆精品 S檚 also part of. 麻豆精品 S淭hey really pushed me to pursue higher education and showed me how and what is needed in order to apply and be successful, 麻豆精品 S� he says. There 麻豆精品 S檚 Assistant Professor of Philosophy Luis Favela, who is the advisor of the Cognitive Sciences club that Medina co-founded, and Katherine Rahill, now a senior scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center, who Medina met while she was completing her postdoc work at UCF and who wrote him a letter of recommendation.
麻豆精品 S淓veryone who I 麻豆精品 S檝e mentioned has in some way either supported me or given me a chance to succeed in some major way, and I feel forever grateful for that, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淯CF gave me the ability to learn how to learn and taught me how to be more empathetic 麻豆精品 S� how to really talk to people, understand where they 麻豆精品 S檙e coming from, and how to relate to people. 麻豆精品 S�
All of these the transformational moments and influences in his life are perhaps one reason why Medina is curious about the inner workings of our brain 麻豆精品 S� and by helping others.
麻豆精品 S淚 think being able to really understand the human experience 麻豆精品 S� how is it that we understand the world around us and experience and form these memories? 麻豆精品 S� in and of itself, is also worth investigating, even if it never led to any clinical advances, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut ultimately, after earning my PhD, I want to work in industry and implement artificial intelligence models in the real world, so that they 麻豆精品 S檙e available to whoever may need them. The idea of helping to improve the world in real-time is something I want to continue to pursue. 麻豆精品 S�
