From One Note to the Next
By: Hritika Chaturvedi
Tags: Music, Interview, Youth, Neuroscience, STEM

Lainey Dinh takes intrigue in fields that would otherwise be considered rather unassociated. Read more to learn about Dinh’s efforts to merge music, entrepreneurship, and various other strains of study with neuroscience.

Photo by Lainey Dinh

Where are you from, what do you study, where are you currently based?

Hello! My name is Lainey, and I am a rising senior from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My greatest passions include molecular biology and neuroscience, but I am also deeply interested in entrepreneurship, music, and youth STEM empowerment.

Why neuroscience?

My interest in neuroscience budded from when I was very young. I learned music from a young age and it has been an impactful aspect of my life. More importantly, it is a big part of my life because of how I was able to make others feel through my music. I was always fascinated by how music made people happy and relaxed, and that is when my neuroscience journey began. As neuroscience is incredibly diverse, I hope to expand my knowledge towards neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, where music therapy is widely studied to be applied as a method of treatment.

What first sparked your curiosity about neuroscience, and how did your interest inspire what you are currently doing?

Throughout my life, I would regularly perform in hospitals and healthcare facilities for the patients there. Every time someone’s smile grew on their face or someone sang along, my passion to help others grew greater, and it is now one of the reasons why I am highly engaged in scientific research and empowering youth who desire to do the same.

What sort of experience do you carry in your field of interest?

I conduct scientific research with the mentorship of UofT professor Dr. Brad Bass in the URECS (University Research Experience with Complex Systems) program, where I am currently working on two projects on environmental science and the neural effects of music. By using a software model COBWEB, I am able to establish my interest in STEM and connect with many self-motivated youth who also aspire to conduct their own scientific research. Furthermore, I am a part of the Simply Neuroscience team in the Humans of Neuroscience and Conference Planning department. Through Simply Neuroscience, I am able to impact young aspiring STEM students and bring more awareness to the fields of psychology and neuroscience.

What do you hope to accomplish in the future?

In the future, I hope to impact the world through my interdisciplinary strengths- more specifically, to help others through scientific research and entrepreneurial innovations to advance modern healthcare. Furthermore, I hope to empower youth to do the same with their individual desires to become young scientists and future world leaders.

Do you find that your age hinders you in any way toward advancing in the field of STEM?

It can sometimes be difficult to find research opportunities because most that are available are for university students already in the field. Although teenagers may not have the resources or years of education of a PhD candidate, age should never restrict anybody from doing what they love. I overcame this barrier by reaching out to professors in the field, as I have learned through personal experience that they are more than glad to see that such young people are interested in learning about what they do. In my work with the Simply Neuroscience team, I have been able to organize conferences that create a big impact for young aspiring STEM students by shining light on the fields of psychology and neuroscience. I believe that age should not create any barriers when it comes to learning, which is why I joined Simply Neuroscience to hopefully bring STEM empowerment and education towards more youth.

Do you think that there is more of an expectation from young scientists? A greater need to establish yourself?

There is a greater need to establish yourself as a young scientist because you have yet to explore, learn, or write papers as thoroughly as experienced scientists. But of course, everyone must start somewhere- if anything, beginning research from a younger age proves that you are determined to build your own path as a scientist. The earlier you start, the more overall experience you’ll gain over the years, and the better research you’ll conduct in the future.

Have you encountered any obstacles throughout your time in this field?

At first, it was rather challenging to figure out who I could reach out to for guidance on advancing my interests in my fields of interest. As I connected with more people, I was able to find people like me and people who could help me learn more about neuroscience.

Do you think that young scientists receive the credit that they are due?

They most absolutely should. Young scientists are incredibly hard-working, ambitious, and highly deserving of credit for their contributions to science.

What is your take on interdisciplinary science, neuroscience in particular?

Interdisciplinary neuroscience is incredibly important and is crucial for an in-depth understanding of the field- in fact, interdisciplinary knowledge is important for any field of study. Through an interdisciplinary lens, I believe that people are able to develop a more innovative mindset and truly appreciate the world around them. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have formed a nonprofit organization called Musicine, an initiative where young musicians collaborate virtually to support patients in healthcare facilities and to explore the field of music therapy. Currently, this nonprofit is helping dozens of healthcare facilities each week, and it is definitely uplifting to comfort patients during the pandemic. This experience has truly reinforced the idea of interdisciplinary studies for many people to see, as the arts and sciences are often seen as two completely different subjects. If you are a musician or vocalist interested in making a positive difference during the pandemic for patients in nursing homes and hospitals, feel free to consider applying by visiting the musicine website (https://musicine.wixsite.com/volunteer).

Are you open to or keen on approaching neuroscience via an interdisciplinary lens?

I am always eager to learn about neuroscience through an interdisciplinary lens. That is one of the main reasons why I appreciate neuroscience so much. I plan on bringing the arts into the picture by also encouraging the use of artistic gifts such as dance, visual art or music in developing or nurturing the brain.

What advice would you give to other young scientists who plan on entering or seek to establish themselves in STEM?

Never be afraid to get out there. I strongly believe that everyone has so much to contribute to science - it is just a matter of taking the initiative to even reach out for opportunities in the first place. These STEM experiences that you seek rarely ever come to you- in most cases, you have to go and chase it yourself. You have nothing to lose, just everything to learn! I would love to connect with like-minded individuals on LinkedIn to explore even more aspects of neuroscience, or even just to talk!

To learn more about Lainey, visit her LinkedIn page.

Interviewed by Hritika Chaturvedi