Graduate students contribute fresh ideas

“We become very set in our ways sometimes and young minds bring in ideas,” said Vimla Patel. “Those ideas are fresh and different…teaching is not a one way street.” 

Two of these young minds are Pallavi Shetty and Christopher Miller, both master’s students, who are working with Patel on her research for the James S. McDonnell grant in the Center for Decision Making & Cognition.

Shetty earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology before deciding on a career in biomedical informatics. “In order to manage errors in the clinical environment, it is critical to understand how decisions are made and what underlying cognitive mechanisms are used to process information during interactions with patients, colleagues and support technology,” she said. 

Miller, who received his undergraduate degree in biology from ASU, said, “My role in the research will be centered in aiding with the multi-site data collection that will be taking place in the hospital critical care departments.”