Deaf mentors serve as role models for students in science internship program

Rising senior Ciara Luttrell wanted to learn about health literacy this summer. So Dr. Lorne Farovitch, ’14, the founder and director of the Global Deaf Research Institute (GDRI), crafted an internship tailored to her interests that included a trip to a United Nations conference on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “It was a fantastic opportunity for her to see the real-world impact of research,” says Farovitch, who mentored Luttrell through a 10-week internship program organized by Gallaudet and the University of Pittsburgh.

Now in its third year, the program — Accessible and Inclusive Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (AIBIDS) — is designed for students interested in AI and data science applied to biology and/or medicine. Associate Professor Dr. Gaurav Arora, who runs AIBIDS along with University of Pittsburgh Associate Professor Richard D. Boyce, notes that six of the students participating this year are Deaf or hard of hearing, and three of the mentors are Deaf.

Gallaudet’s expanded Data Science offerings, including both a minor and major, have helped encourage more Deaf students to consider scientific careers. With AIBIDS, Arora aims to boost their chances of continuing through graduate school and beyond. “We want students to see the value of these fields,” he says. Deaf mentors provide another push because they can directly address student challenges and concerns. “Role models are very important for any community,” Arora adds.

Following in their footsteps

Farovitch, who double majored in Biology and Chemistry at Gallaudet before earning his Ph.D. in Translational Biomedical Science from the University of Rochester, was eager to get involved.

“I founded GDRI to advance Deaf people’s quality of life through data-driven advocacy. An opportunity like AIBIDS is beneficial to our organization — bridging research with policy work and offering hands-on mentorship is exactly the kind of experience that shapes effective advocates,” he says. “AIBIDS is helping us push for tangible policy changes while fostering the next generation of Deaf researchers.”

GDRI’s current research project is a national deaf needs assessment in Ecuador, which allowed Luttrell to work with the team to analyze and disseminate data. “We’re examining factors that influence deaf individuals’ quality of life — such as education level and healthcare access — with the goal of using our findings to advocate for policy changes in Ecuador,” Farovitch adds.

Dr. Johnny Duong, another Deaf mentor, studied genomics and epigenetics for his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed a postdoc at the University of Rochester, and he plans to move to Ithaca to continue his research at Cornell University.

“AIBIDS is a fantastic opportunity for me to learn how to mentor students and learn new skills,” Duong says. He has worked with four of the students this summer, including Gallaudet’s Blessed Mbogo, who is researching how to better predict Parkinson’s Disease using health records data. Duong helped students keep on schedule with their projects, start developing conference papers, and have a good time along the way. “I just see them as equal peers and I can just have fun chatting with them about whatever,” he says.

Duong, who has been a guest speaker for AIBIDS in previous years, appreciates how the program accommodates Deaf needs. “All of the lectures and meetings are recorded with transcriptions so that nobody will miss out on anything,” he says.

Matter of interpretation

Interpreting is also an integral part of AIBIDS. A team of certified interpreters provide support throughout the summer, and one internship slot is reserved for an American Sign Language interpreting student, who can closely observe how to interpret specifically in scientific settings.

This year, Dr. Scott Cohen, an Assistant Professor at Lamar University with the Department of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, served as a deaf mentor to intern Brianna Palasik, an interpreting student at Mount Aloysius College in Pennsylvania. His research focuses on how to support science teachers working with deaf students. “This opportunity with AIBIDS allowed me to outsource my skillset to offer support in scientific-ASL lexicons, which has been one of the major challenges in the deaf education and interpreting fields. So many scientific terms do not have their own signed words, especially in subfields such as bioinformatics.” Cohen says.

Palasik documented different STEM lexicons used during mentorship meetings and group events, and brought this data to Cohen. They worked together to identify areas to focus on and developed a poster presentation for the end of the program.

Looking to the future

Arora and Boyce are hopeful for the future of AIBIDS, which has been funded by a grant from the National Library of Medicine. “It’s a great community. We’ve seen these connections stick around and they’re meaningful for people,” says Boyce, who notes that program alumni have co-authored published peer-reviewed research papers and presented at national scientific conferences. “Word is getting around and the academic competence of the students is very high.”

They would like to continue to recruit more Deaf mentors, and transition leadership of the program to Deaf scientists.

To learn more about Gallaudet’s Data Science offerings, check out the program options. Gallaudet also recently hosted a panel on different career pathways in data science.