Vinh Vo

Community-Academic Scholar:  Vinh Vo (he/him)

Project: Vinh worked with Prof. Raksha Mudar and CJE SeniorLife to assess the benefits of social engagement using OneClick on overall health and quality of life for older adults and collaborate with Home and Community-Based Organizations to prepare for community-based implementation. Learn more about the project. 

Do you have a personal story or path that led to your interest in this research project?
My aunt at home has a major-depressive disorder and a list of other cognitive disorders which has affected her life a lot. After I introduced her to using video calling to call our family members instead of just normal phone call, she found it very fun and she's been doing it daily ever since. I believe strongly that technology can help older adults (with or without MCI) increase their social engagement. From that experience I found Video Technology-Based Social Engagement to be very interesting which made me pursue the project.

How has participating in this program helped you toward your goals?
I've learned an enormous amount of detail about how research grants and research projects work. From participant privacy to HIPAA-compliant data storage, the experience has been great. I've learned how to be more professional in dealing with participants in the study and this would prompt the reason for strict protocols surrounding the intervention. Overall, the experience has solidified my interest of incorporating research into my future career goals.

What was the most meaningful part of this experience? 
The most meaningful part has been interacting with the participants and teaching them how to use our OneClick video calling platform. I spent a good month and a half at the beginning of the program learning and practicing the different protocols that come from conducting tech training and tech support. To see that I am able to host tech training sessions alone with participants now is really exciting and I'm grateful for the learning opportunity.

What advice do you have for future scholars or to those who are interested in applying for the program? 
For future scholars, I would recommend pouring your time into the program and getting to know your lab members. The lab mentors and members I worked with have been nothing short of welcoming and helpful. I would also recommend not to be afraid to ask questions. Figuring things out on your own on a research project you've never worked with can be challenging so do remember you have a team working alongside you.