Q2 — Q3 2024 Recap

This half of 2024 has been humbling

Career Moves, Closing the ImYoo Chapter

It was hard to step away from ImYoo, but I’m so proud of what I was able to contribute in my time there. As the fourth person on our team of five, I was given more autonomy and learning opportunities than I could’ve found at any large company.

We built a decentralized national research study from scratch. How would we find patients? I found them. How would we get their blood to our labs, refrigerated, within 36 hours? We developed the packaging and the software and the on-call schedules. We built it all. I now have even deeper empathy for chronic illness patients and a better understanding of what it’s like to live with autoimmune disease, especially inflammatory bowel disease. I can’t wait to see what the ImYoo team reports from this unique dataset we’ve generated.

Travel

To mark the beginning of a new chapter, I set out to solo travel and explore the creative scene in a new city. Luckily for me, Lisbon, my first destination on my loose itinerary, was a great place to do this. I jammed with local musicians and made art with local artists, all within my first two weeks. Unfortunately, I had to return home at that point due to some health challenges.

Health Challenges

Managing a chronic condition is something I could personally relate to with our ImYoo study participants. At ImYoo, a core part of our messaging was patient empowerment. I learned so much from our study participants about what patients need to know and say to feel empowered in medical and research settings.

When my health took a turn for the worse recently, I thought back to our empowered “patient scientists.” How could I apply what I told them to my own experience? Sitting there in my doctor’s office, feeling discouraged and frustrated, I asked, “What can I do to feel like an empowered patient?” Our appointment shifted into a more collaborative session. My experience at ImYoo benefitted me not just professionally, but personally, as well.

Advocacy

With all the insights I gained at ImYoo, I felt there was still so much to share with patients seeking clinical research opportunities. As a result, I started The Patient Scientist channel and an accompanying blog (currently hosted on the Resources page of my personal website). My goal is to give people the knowledge and tools to navigate research opportunities as empowered patients. Ultimately, I want to grow an army of patient scientists, eager to take part in research and confident navigating the scientific landscape.

I’ve also continued to write each month in the Unity Club newsletter. It continues to give some people hope, so it still feels worthwhile.

Finally, continuing my work with the PCSIG is something I’m very grateful to have more time to do now. Figuring out the best strategies for disseminating our tremendous resources is a fun challenge.

Next steps

I’m getting my health back on track and looking forward to doing more meaningful work. Building large projects, exploring new places, restoring health, and connecting with people around a common cause are all things that I’m grateful I get to do. The challenges of these past months have been humbling, and I’m looking forward to closing out 2024 with more maturity and insight.