This month, we鈥檙e excited to feature Athena Owirodu and Jiawen Li, two CAnD3 Fellows whose research journeys highlight how curiosity and exploration open new perspectives. From refining research interests to discovering fresh questions through data, both reflect on how mentorship, collaboration, and the CAnD3 experience have shaped the way they approach understanding the world.
To start, tell us a bit about your journeys. Was there a defining moment that influenced the way you approach research? And how has your experience with CAnD3 shaped that journey?
Athena:聽A pivotal moment for me in my research journey was my work as a research analyst at Croatan Institute. I was introduced to hands-on research in community development and financial wellness coaching. As a researcher with a life science background, I quickly noticed that health was absent from the conversations around wealth inequality in my work projects. This inspired me to pursue my Ph.D in sociology to investigate social inequalities at the intersection of health and wealth.
Thus far, I have found the CAnD3 program to be invaluable in building my confidence in data communication. Our Oxford workshop gave me a solid overview of advanced data visualization using R, which was reinforced by our PopAging data challenge. The training we have done in writing policy briefs and op-eds has also highlighted to me the importance of communicating findings to the public, which I hope to do extensively in my own work postgrad school.
Jiawen: I was impressed at the very start 鈥� the Research Replicability and Workflow Management (RRWM) module. Before, as a social science student, research was about theoretical debate and some data analytics, and it was novel and refreshing to approach the industry standard/data science world, where RR & WM are so important for research collaboration and for future research. Throughout CAnD3, I鈥檝e positioned myself as an active learner and future professional who commits to quality work and industry standards since then.
Let's talk about your work.聽What鈥檚 a recent project, presentation, or milestone that you鈥檙e particularly proud of? What made it meaningful, or perhaps challenging, to complete?
础迟丑别苍补:听An exciting project I am proud of is my ongoing work examining Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) syndrome among U.S. adults. This biomarker construct allows researchers to examine comorbidities in populations. I currently study how stress is associated with the prevalence of CKM syndrome among racial and ethnic populations. I think the most challenging aspect of this work has been constructing this variable. About 11 different biomarker measures were used to create this! Nonetheless, I am committed to discovering the implications for well-being connected to this work. I hope to contribute towards literature about the impact of social stressors on the body and further extend this to understanding the relevance of financial stress on CKM syndrome development.
闯颈补飞别苍:听I am proud to share that I completed a human rights & law paper on labor governance in Singapore, and (told by some other classmate) that I was the only one who received an A in the class, which was a great surprise and honor. I started with analyzing Lee Kuan Yew鈥檚 governance ideology and went on discussing the prevailing labor policies and juridical cases on domestic and immigrant labor. I plan to refine this work by incorporating more comparative analysis. The paper has been submitted to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association and hopefully will be shortlisted.
Every researcher needs a recharge.聽How do you unwind or find balance outside of your academic life?聽
础迟丑别苍补:听I love coexisting with nature! When I travel to new places, I enjoy visiting botanical gardens, national parks, and greenery! In 2023, I visited Yellowstone National Park, which was a week filled with daunting heights, beautiful hot springs and geysers, and majestic views.
闯颈补飞别苍:听I have absolute pitch and love singing, and I previously played the piano. I鈥檓 also a top-200 player in League of Legends: Wild Rift (a mobile game). I enjoy volunteering and taking on leadership roles in my community. Alongside several leadership positions at school, I serve as a resident leader at my apartment, the renowned International House NYC.聽
Photos Left to right: Athena visiting the Yellowstone National Park, Jiawen at a community event
Finally, if you were to describe your research as food, what would it be and why?
础迟丑别苍补:听I would describe my research as a bowl of fruit salad. Each piece of fruit represents a population and its health. One key thing to highlight is the processes and obstacles each piece of fruit went through from harvest to bowl. The same way that structural inequalities & social stressors can threaten the health of human populations, hazards鈥攊.e., chemical contamination, inadequate storage conditions, & pest attacks 鈥攃an also threaten the vitality of and availability of quality fruit. Thus, in the same way we need to improve fruit harvesting to make sure we have healthy (and delicious) fruit salads, we also need to improve health equity for humans to ensure more people can live healthy lives.
闯颈补飞别苍:听I鈥檇 say curry! It鈥檚 both nourishing and globally celebrated, enhancing everything from chicken and pork to fully vegan dishes. I hope my interdisciplinary research can be just as inclusive and adaptable鈥攁ppealing to a wide range of audiences.
Through their work and stories, Athena and Jiawen capture the spirit of CAnD3, using data to illuminate human experiences and inspire meaningful change. Their journeys remind us that research, like connection, is both personal and transformative.
