Marissa Joy is a graduate student studying data science for public policy at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. This summer she participated in a Coding it Forward Civic Digital fellowship with mentor Judy Riggie in the Division of Scientific Categorization and Analysis within the Office of Extramural Research (OER).
Joy and her co-fellow, Rohan Narain, spent the summer developing a web app that uses a natural language processing algorithm to sort grant information for internal NIH staff.
“We’re working on this together. Rohan is focusing more on the text summarization and I’m working on the QA side,” Joy explained. “We’re starting to put them together to deploy the app.”
“You can insert an abstract or question and the app will show you related grant summaries,” added Narain.
Since Coding it Forward fellows usually spend the summer on campus, the rapid switch to telework changed many aspects of this year’s fellowship, including Joy’s original project. Riggie had initially planned to have one fellow but when she learned that Joy was unable to participate in her original project, she invited her to join OER for the summer.
“Marissa was unable to do her original program due to the circumstances,” Riggie said. “We knew we could use two fellows, so we chatted with Marissa and she was interested in what we had to offer.”
Joy is no stranger to teleworking herself, though. “I’ve had jobs that were virtual, so this hasn’t been as much of a transition,” Joy said.
Coding it Forward worked to keep fellows, mentors, and others connected during this unique experience. They had virtual events, talks, and networking opportunities for the fellows this summer. While a traditional in-person experience would have been great, Joy is still confident in the connections she’s made virtually.
“Coding it Forward has been doing a good job of making sure that people stay connected,” she added.
The team at OER has helped ease the transition as well. “Everyone’s been really kind and helpful,” Joy said.
The fellowship has helped Joy build her technical skills, but it’s also helped her build skills in other areas. “I’ve also been able to develop my communications skills,” Joy said. “I think that will help me wherever I go.”
The Office of Data Science Strategy at NIH works with institutes and centers and with Coding it Forward to bring fresh perspectives to tackle computational challenges facing the biomedical research workforce each summer. ODSS will feature fellows and mentors from the 2020 cohort throughout the summer. Meet Marissa's co-fellow, Rohan, and mentor, Judy.
