Harrish Ganesh is an incredible lab member. He volunteers a large portion of his time every week to lab work and is always enthusiastic about the research.
Harrish is our go to imageJ expert in the lab. This is an image processing software with which he had no previous experience upon beginning lab work with us. And now, he knows the ins and outs and has taught them to other students in the lab. In his time in the Vazey lab, Harrish has troubleshot microscopy analysis, written protocols, and analyzed images from three brain regions. Harrish’s work is very high quality. He is very thorough in everything he does.
Maybe most importantly, he enjoys learning and contributing to the lab. Harrish asks excellent questions when he is unsure of an underlying mechanism and shows an eye for detail to produce results and insights beyond his years. He is great at thinking on his toes and making connections.
I am often amazed at Harrish’s incredible time management skills. I met Harrish through a program called SkypeAScientist, in which I spoke with several groups of students about the brain and research. Harrish was communicating with me to orchestrate these conversations with students. Little did I know at the time, Harrish had created an entire after school program called the Future Brighter, which makes science engaging for elementary school students through activities and speakers like me! In his spare time, he has conducted an impressive amount of research. But he also published academic papers, won awards in science competitions, played on the basketball team, passed an EMT class, and I’m certain many other activities as well. In our interactions he is always organized and punctual.
It is truly remarkable how much Harrish has accomplished and given back to his community while still in high school. He has a drive like nobody I have met before. I am confident that Harrish will be an asset to any work environment due to his interpersonal and problem solving skills, along with his incredible work ethic. We will definitely feel his absence from the lab when he graduates and are sad to see him go despite our excitement for his very bright future.
-Emma Dauster (Mentor in the Vazey lab, UMass Amherst)
Science by Emma Dauster 