Student Profile: Crystal Chen

Crystal Chen is a summer research intern in the Pediatric Physical Activity Lab (PPAL) under the direction of Sofiya Alhassan, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology.  

Q: Explain what you are researching and your daily role in the study.

The Pediatric Physical Activity Lab (PPAL) explores the impact of physical activity and other health behaviors on the health of preschool-age children. The research implemented by PPAL takes place within the preschool center.  The most recent study was a gross motor skill-based physical activity intervention that looked to see if increasing physical activity and gross motor skills in preschoolers affected their cognitive development. Most of my work was data analysis and processing the data we had. The kids were filmed performing gross motor and object-control skills, such as running or throwing, and I had to process and clip the videos. I also inputted data from surveys and assessments based on physical, cognitive, and behavioral measurements that the children showed. It isn’t the flashiest work, but it was interesting to see how the different variables correlated with each other.

Q: What made you interested in this research?

Pediatric obesity has been a struggle that I have faced throughout my childhood, and although I cannot go back and help myself, I wanted to participate in research that could help children maintain a healthy lifestyle. I was drawn to Dr. Alhassan’s research because of her focus on preventing obesity and other comorbidities in low-socioeconomic, minority communities. In a sense, I guess I just felt seen, and the goal of the research to better the lives of children is something that I highly advocate for. I also really enjoy working with children, with aspirations of working in a pediatric healthcare setting, so this research was a perfect way to explore further the physical aspects of child health.  

Crystal Chen presenting research

Q: How have your experiences at UMass prepared you for research?

My experiences at UMass not only prepared me for research but also in becoming more independent and learning to navigate through my college life. I am a first-generation college student, and I came to UMass with little to no knowledge on how to find research, pick the right classes, and live away from home for the first time. However, UMass offers many resources to help its students and ample opportunities to succeed. I became more connected to my major as I took public health courses taught by amazing professors who were passionate about what they were teaching. My first-year seminar was about maternal and pediatric health, and after finishing the course, I realized this topic was something I wanted to learn more about. SPHHS and its advisors have also been extremely helpful in preparing me for research. I was able to talk to peer and faculty advisors about looking for research and what it entails. I found my internship this summer due to an email from the SPHHS career planning weekly newsletters. It’s crazy to think that at the beginning of my freshman year, I knew almost nothing about research or college in general, and now I feel prepared about going in with doing more research in the future.

Q: What about this internship are you most excited about?

I am excited about a multitude of things in this internship, but I am definitely most excited about being able to gain real experience working in a lab. Working with Dr. Alhassan this summer has exposed me to what it is like to work in a real research environment and all the different aspects of conducting research. I came in with little knowledge of what I was doing and walked out with a better-understood perspective of the importance of research on creating change. Not only was I contributing to research for the first time, but I was also able to meet like-minded individuals within my lab and within the William Lee Science Impact Program Summer Research Program (Lee-SIP). Overall, this internship has been a big learning experience for me, and I am looking forward to doing more research during the school year.

Q: What do you hope to do in the future, either at UMass or after graduating?

I am not entirely sure what I want to do yet, but currently, I am on the pre-med track with plans to go to medical school. I am still exploring other opportunities and delving deeper into the field of healthcare to figure out what I want to do in the future. Areas of interest that I would like to learn more about during my time here at UMass are maternal health, pediatrics, and community health. Whatever my goals may be for the future, I want to make sure that I make the most of it, being able to do what I love while surrounded by the people I love.