Current Tufts student Fernanda Gonzalez shared the following about being a Summer Intern at the UCSF ALBA Language Neurobiology Lab …
What did you do as an intern at this organization?
I helped a Speech Language Pathologist with therapy preparation, and also assisted with more technical things such as crafting data visualizations for bilingualism studies.
How did you find this internship?
I found this internship through my scholarship mentor!
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
I enjoyed getting to see a patient’s smile when they were able to successfully pronounce or remember a certain word.
What did you find challenging?
I found it challenging to adjust to a research and academic organization’s workflow.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
Talk to your supervisor! They are more than happy to offer career advice.
About the Organization
UCSF ALBA Language Neurobiology Lab
The ALBA Language Neurobiology laboratory in the UCSF Memory and Aging Center is directed by Dr. Maria Luisa Gorno Tempini. We study how language is organized into brain networks across the lifespan. Our group researches how language skills and brain regions are impacted by neurological conditions and how they reorganize in response. Our multidisciplinary team correlates behavioral research with multimodal neuroimaging techniques to understand the neural underpinning of higher cognitive functions such as speech, language and memory. In particular, our lab researches two syndromes: Primary Progressive Aphasia and Dyslexia.
