a mid-2024 update from nina!

finally!~

hey:).

wow, it’s been a while (6.5 months to be precise). thank you to the people who have asked me where i’ve gone haha. so long, in fact, that i’ve forgotten how to do my typical intro (and, based on this paragraph so far, broken my shift/caps lock key). i think my newsletters always started out with a joke, so let me think of one. this one might require audience participation.

ummmmmm, knock knock!

who’s there?

nina, obviously!

ok, that wasn’t that funny, but i did take a long break from joke-making. i think i need to get back into it!

so, let me give you a quick recap on my work, life, and everything in between. it’ll be less long than usual, because i want to experiment with making these more short-form and snappy.

biotein:

• we’ve completed a new study that gives us more insight into our product and future directions.

• also have done a lot of research on customer validation etc. trying to make prototype soon!

• working on raising funds for next steps - if you have any advice/leads, please let us know! we’d also love any feedback on raising materials if you’d like to give any.

research:

• currently working at the tsai lab at MIT on understanding the changes in gene expression between cognitively-declining vs resilient alzheimer’s patients.

these two projects are super fulfilling for me. i have some other cool things in the works as well, to be disclosed later!

college:

college was probably the best year of my life to date. i learned so much from my classes (and as a whole!), met so many amazing people, and all around grew a lot as a person. 10/10 experience.

warning: pic highlight reel incoming!

dances with friends <3!

leaving the library? crazy! went on some fun outings.

my suitemates were lovely! so many late night chats and hours spent together talking and laughing about who knows what.

staying in touch with my amazing high school friends, of course! photo noninclusive of all friends but still a good photo!

musing (singular, college edition):

• college is hard. adjusting to anything is hard, but especially college. you feel a little lost and confused at times and rely on others to anchor you, but that can be tough, especially when they also feel lost.
  
  there are so many changes in dynamics between people, class difficulties, and new situations you wouldn’t have ever anticipated in high school!
  
  for instance, it’s hard to keep friends unless you make special effort. it’s not like high school, where there was built-in time to hang out during the day! now, you must try (alas!).
  
  another example is the idea of always having to be on/alert. you’ll be interacting and working with people constantly. you’ll probably always be working LOL. peaceful time now requires intention. that’s tough to justify in a work-obsessed mind.
  
  academically, college is a bit easier than high school at times, but at other times, it’s quite overwhelming. probably a lot more variable/chaotic than high school, but very worth it and you learn so much! you also get 10x better at time management.
  
  finally, i didn’t realize how bonding and exciting and beautiful the ability to live with others would be. the 3am conversations and daily recaps cannot be beat. it’s so exciting and cool to show up for people when they need it, lock in at other times, etc rinse and repeat!

ok, so this wasn’t that short lol. but still hopefully you enjoyed it. thank you for reading <3! i appreciate all of you. if you have thoughts/ideas about any of this stuff, please reply:).

-nina