Caroline Bodnar
Role at the UMBC Career Center: I help people figure out "what they want to be when they grow up" and what steps they need to take to get there.
Q: Where have you earned your college degrees?
A: Undergrad = University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Wahoowa! Grad= Towson University in Towson, MD.
Q: What program(s) did you study? How did you choose your major?
A: B.A. in Psychology. I started out a Biology major on the pre-med track but decided that I wanted to help people without having to take all those advanced science and math courses. I basically took every Psych course the school offered because I loved the subject that much!
M.A. in Counseling Psychology
Q: Tell me about the job and internship process when you were in college. Were you able to find job/internship positions that were related to your major or your career interests?
A: I interviewed for a work-study on-campus job as a fiscal tech assistant in UVA's biomedical engineering department on my first day of class and was offered the job on the spot. I kept that job for all 4 years including summers because they gave me a raise every year. Internships were not really emphasized so I did not have any. However, I was a research assistant in a cognitive Psych lab for academic credit for 4 semesters.
Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
A: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
Q: Why should students visit the Career Center?
A: Students and alumni should visit because you don't have to do everything on your own. I never went to my college career center mistakenly thinking they could not help me. As a first generation college student, I didn't have anyone else to point me in the right direction so it would have made things infinitely easier if I had used the resources my school offered. Plus, we are fun and friendly people so students should not be intimidated to check us out.
Q: What is your favorite aspect about UMBC?
A: This is the fifth university I have worked for and while each one has had a unique culture and personality, I really like the small feel of UMBC and how supportive everyone is of each other. It is such a pleasure to work with UMBC students because they are so polite, hard-working, and appreciative. Plus, we're a little quirky and I think that's pretty cool.
Q: What is one item on your bucket list?
A: I really want to try sky-diving. I was all set to do it on my 30th birthday and then I discovered that I was pregnant so I decided to hold off for a bit. I also love travel and want to see as much of the world as I can in my lifetime.
Q: What is one aspect of the DC/Baltimore area that you often explore?
A: My husband and I like to visit off-the-beaten path places. One recent interesting find is the Mansion on O Street in DC where you can wonder around themed rooms and find secret passageways. I also love animals so the National Zoo is an old fave that is free!
Want to connect with Caroline or any of our great Career Center team? Call our office at 410-455-2216 or check out our contact us page here: http://careers.umbc.edu/aboutus/
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MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 16, 2014) - Ayasdi (www.ayasdi.com) today announced that it is teaming up with Bayes Impact to discover insights that will lead to improved outcomes for people with Parkinson's disease. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) is providing data from Parkinson's disease patients, Bayes Impact data scientists are performing the analysis, and Ayasdi is using its advanced analytics software, Ayasdi Cure™, to accurately stratify patients and advance precision medicine.
Ayasdi Previously Identified New Patient Sub-Groups Based on Data Collected from Smartphones
Today, two-thirds of U.S. consumers carry smartphones throughout the day. Increasingly, smartphones track many aspects of our lives including where we go, what we buy and what we search. Health care companies and foundations are beginning to use smartphones as a way to track patient health in real-time. In early 2013, The Michael J. Fox Foundation launched a Parkinson's Data Challenge, making available accelerometer and gyroscope data from smartphones of people with Parkinson's and of healthy control volunteers.
Ayasdi applied its deep analytics and machine learning software to this dataset and proved that data collected from smartphones can be used to differentiate subjects with Parkinson's disease from healthy controls. In addition, preliminary results revealed two subpopulations of Parkinson's patients, as defined by the data collected from the smartphones.
"Years from now, I would expect that smartphone data from Parkinson's patients would stream directly to physicians so that they can see the severity of the disease in real-time and if new medications are ineffective or efficacious," said Damir Herman, Principal Data Scientist for Life Sciences at Ayasdi. "Instead of waiting a month for a patient to visit a doctor's office, a physician would know right away if the current course of therapy is working or if it's necessary to change treatment protocols. This is really the future of medicine, and I'm thrilled that Ayasdi is teaming with Bayes Impact to lead the way."
Bayes Impact Now Exploring More Precise Stratification of Parkinson's Patients to Improve Outcomes
Bayes Impact data scientists are applying Ayasdi's advanced topological analysis software to the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) dataset, with the goal of further stratifying Parkinson's disease patients to identify biomarkers. Ayasdi Cure helps identify patient subgroups with distinct traits, which may point to different pathological mechanisms and thereby treatment options.
PPMI is a longitudinal study taking place at 32 clinical sites around the world with a goal of validating biological markers of disease risk, onset or progression. The initial cohort enrolled 400 people with Parkinson's and 200 controls, and the study has since expanded to recruit people with Parkinson's risk factors: loss of sense of smell, REM behavior disorder and genetic mutations. MJFF sponsors the study and makes de-identified data from volunteers available for open access to qualified researchers.
"When we first engaged with Ayasdi, we weren't sure what we would find, but the results were immediately apparent," said Ken Kubota, Director of Data Science at The Michael J. Fox Foundation. "We are now including MJFF-sponsored PPMI data for Bayes Impact and Ayasdi to discover even richer insights that can potentially lead to real breakthroughs in the management and treatment of Parkinson's disease."
"The PPMI dataset is ideally suited for computational exploration because of its diverse set of tests and the large number of subjects enrolled," said Eric Liu, Chief Program Officer, Bayes Impact. "Topological data analysis from Ayasdi has proven to be an incredible way of discovering new insights from complex data."
About Ayasdi
Ayasdi is transforming how the world uses data to solve complex problems by automatically discovering and operationalizing insights from complex datasets. Founded in 2008 after a decade of DARPA and NSF funded research at Stanford, Ayasdi's has been named as one of the most innovative companies in big data by Fortune, Fast Company and others. The company's advanced analytics solution combines machine learning with Topological Data Analysis (TDA), enabling users to extract subtle, often hidden insights from their data. Funded by Khosla Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, GE Ventures, Citi Ventures, and FLOODGATE, Ayasdi's customers include General Electric, Citigroup, Anadarko, Boehringer Ingelheim, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Mercy, and Mount Sinai Hospital. To learn more, visit www.ayasdi.com or follow us @ayasdi.
Ayasdi helps the world's biggest and most sophisticated organizations discover breakthroughs that change how we all live and work. People who share this passion can view Ayasdi career opportunities here.
About Bayes Impact
Bayes Impact is a Y Combinator-backed nonprofit on a mission to bring the data revolution to the social sector. We deploy data science teams to develop solutions to social impact challenges, partnering with civic and nonprofit organizations. Our data scientists come from leading technology companies and academic institutions, including Google, Facebook, Cloudera, Genentech, Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. We are leveraging data science to positively impact our community and foster a new model of sustainable progress. To learn more, visit our website at www.bayesimpact.org.
Much obliged to you to the greater part of the first-year candidates who have been working so hard to finish their applications by November 1, our early action due date, is just two weeks away. We do ask that you remember that this due date is not our last due date. So by the chance that you aren’t able to meet this due date, we are fine with you applying for our February 1, regular decision deadline. Either way, we look forward to receiving and reading your application.
Over the past five weeks I have received a large amount of questions regarding admissions and also early action. I think it would be a great idea to address the more frequent questions that I have been receiving at each school I visit. I have enjoyed speaking with each of you over the past few weeks and I hope that this following Q&A will be helpful to you all.
What is expected by the due date? We expect your Common Application and application fee. As we understand, SAT’s are being offered on October 25, which leaves only a few days until the EA deadline. To answer a question that I have received during the majority of my visits this month, we will accept your scores after November 1 as long as your application is submitted by the deadline.
Which due date would it be a good idea for me to pick? Early action or regular decision? We offer two admissions dates in respect to the fact that UMBC likes to provide you with alternatives. Not one of the other due dates will affect your chances of being accepted, and both have the same May 1st enrollment date. Pick whichever due date best fits your timetable.
When will I receive my admission decision? Early Action candidates will get their choices in mid-December, early January at the latest. Regular decision applicants should expect to receive their admissions decision in mid-May to early June.
Will you acknowledge more than one letter of recommendation? UMBC requires two letters of recommendation. We will not fragment your application for having more than two letters of recommendations. If there is any confusion on the application process or the requirements, feel free to email us at ADMISSIONS@UMBC.EDU. Likewise please ask your recommender to include your complete name and birthdate on the recommendation.
What is your email address? ADMISSIONS@UMBC.EDU
Whom do I contact on the off chance that I have an inquiry regarding the Basic Application? The Common Application gives help through their site. However, for help or any other questions regarding the application, feel free to contact me or the admissions main office. My information is listed below.
Jason Scroggins | Admissions Counsleor
Direct Line: 410.455.1729
Main Office: 410.455.2292
It would be a great idea to regularly check your personal and UMBC email account for any updates and the status of your application. In addition, check your MyUMMBC account to see the complete status of your application as well. Accordingly, for the most recent news from our office, please continue going to the University website and follow us on social media as well. (@umbcadmissions on Twitter and Instagram.) Meanwhile, please let us know whether we may aid you in any capacity.
Kind Regards,
Jason