I am a senior, biology major, an Honors College member, and a math minor. I am a huge nerd and am also involved with research on campus in Dr. Lu's lab. After I graduate (this semester!) I am going to graduate school for a PhD in microbiology.
Tell us about how you are involved on campus.
I head the Lab Tours Committee for Biology Council of Majors, as well as being involved with UMBC's Club Fencing team.
How and why did you get involved in being a tutor?
I have been tutoring since Fall 2014. I had enjoyed helping to tutor friends unofficially throughout high school, so I decided to apply.
What is your favorite thing about being a tutor?
I love seeing the "Aha!" moment when a student finally understands something they have been struggling with. It's really exciting to watch students who came in very confused start to understand and work on problems independently.
Why should students utilize the tutoring?
I think the tutors try to be really helpful to students who are struggling, but I might be biased. Also, tutoring can be great even for students who aren't struggling. Trying to explain things to fellow tutees is a great way to cement your understanding. If nothing else, it's free and easy to get, so you've only wasted a little time if it doesn't work out.
What advice would you give students about how to prepare for a tutoring session?
Figure out what you want to get out of the session ahead of time, and try to be clear about it. It helps me to know if you want me to answer the occasional question and check your solutions or if you need me to explain concepts and give lots of support in solving problems. Bringing notes/textbooks and the questions you want to go over is key.
And if you can't figure out exactly what you're struggling with, that's okay too! I'm happy to work with you to try to figure it out.
When and where can someone work with you through the Learning Resources Center?
I am in the Math Lab Mondays from 9am-10 and Fridays from 9am-1pm. I also do appointment tutoring for Genetics on Wednesday mornings.
He is a Biology major and an independent researcher. He is also a Teaching Assistant for both Biology 300 and 303, as well as a tutor for the Math Lab and Writing Center. He plans to attend medical school, become a doctor, and ultimately make a positive impact on the world. His advice on beginning in research, "Get started early!!! My biggest regret about research is that I didn’t get started as early as I should have. Working in a lab is a very rewarding experience that you learn a lot from. Getting involved early allows you to maximize what you gain and gives you enough time to pursue any long-term projects. Time is an invaluable resource and this is especially true with research."
Junaid's research will explore the efforts that will pave the way for the next-generation applications in human regenerative medicine. For more than a century, scientists have been captivated by the regenerative capabilities of the planarian flatworm, which can regenerate a full body from almost any type of amputation. To understand the mechanisms controlling this extraordinary ability, research approaches based on surgical, pharmacological, and genetic manipulations have been used extensively to produce a huge dataset of experimental results disseminated through the literature. The rise of sophisticated machine learning algorithms and computational power has brought upon a novel way of studying these fascinating creatures.
Read more about his research here…
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