Seize the opportunity! Young Mexican’s medical study visit at Harvard

“Who dares wins!” That’s how José Antonio Caldas, a student of Mechanical Engineering and Administration at the Tec’s Querétaro campus, enthusiastically tells CONECTA about his work placement at one of Harvard Medical School’s laboratories. 

His placement focused on the research areas of the magnetoencephalography and magnetic resonance programs of the Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.

The challenges José had to overcome included working virtually with colleagues from different parts of the world, as half of his placement was done remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We’re often afraid to seize opportunities. This experience made it clear to me that I should believe in myself, as the only real difference between those who’ve made it and ourselves is that they already believe it and we don’t yet,” says the student.

 

The tasks that this student performed included the following: 

• Automating the system for processing and analyzing information from brain scans through codes and scripts in Matlab to locate diseases in children. 
• Creating a code to run on patient scans and detect which areas of the brain are connected. 
• Thanks to his statistical analysis, he coauthored the implementation of a tool to detect diseases through brain patterns. 

“The Tec has given me great tools for analysis and programming. It’s prepared me to face challenges like the ones involved in my Harvard placement,” emphasized José Antonio.

He currently continues to be an associate staff member at Harvard for future projects. His passion for research also means that his plans include pursuing a master’s in Business Data Management. 

“I’ll keep putting myself forward. I’m going to carry on daring to apply to global companies in order to keep growing and learning,” he concluded.

 

With information from Olga Fernanda Camacho and Juan Pablo Mendoza

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