By Yechezkal Freundlich, Senior Science and Technology Editor
Charles Kleinman, originally from Hollywood, Florida, attended Katz Yeshiva High School, where he balanced academics with a variety of extracurricular activities. He spent his weekends working as a lifeguard and pursued Brazilian Jiu Jitsu outside of school. His passion for medicine became evident early on when he joined the Biomedical Club in his freshman year and remained active throughout high school. After graduation, Charles spent a year studying at Yeshiva Torah V’avodah in Israel, an experience that deepened his connection to Judaism and solidified his path forward. During his time in Israel, he decided to attend Yeshiva University instead of following his original plan to go to the University of Miami.
Charles Kleinman e is now a third-year pre-med student at YU, fully dedicated to pursuing a career in medicine.
Whose lab do you work in and what do you study?
This year, I’ve begun working with Dr. Yaniv Cohen and a small team of students in his research lab. Dr. Cohen’s research has two components, and I work alongside a wonderful pre-med student team to analyze visual empathy results collected from many different volunteer subjects. We can visualize the brain waves and function using a non-invasive electronic cap that reads the subject’s electroencephalograms (EEG) in response to various emotional stimuli. To do this, we take two subjects sitting across from each other, both wearing the EEG cap; one subject is shown an emotionally stimulating image, and the other is not. We aim to see if emotions can be transferred from vision alone, while simultaneously observing how it is done.
How did you get involved in this research?
Dr. Cohen began working at YU last fall, and I’ve heard countless reports of his research ever since. Everyone currently or previously involved in his study has said that the content is interesting and unique, so I knew I had to experience it for myself. This past summer, I reached out to Dr. Cohen regarding his research and discussed ways that I could add value to his team. After back-and-forth discussions about his research, I was added to his team, and so far, I’m extremely thankful that I reached out.
What did you hope to gain from this research experience?
In the classroom, you learn concepts that you’ll encounter at some point in your medical career. However, when doing this research (and research in general), you learn and prove concepts that have yet to be discovered in the mainstream medical world. I hope to gain a head start in the medical industry, finding and proving theories that have yet to be discovered. We are actively in the process of discovering what, hopefully, future medical students will be learning in their textbooks.
What role do you play in this lab?
My role is to read the brain waves emitted from different emotional stimuli and calculate the peaks’ size and duration. In our case, two brain waves – beta and alpha waves –are what we analyze. We ignore the other omitted waves because, in our circumstance, the tests are meant to activate the beta waves, which come from an actively engaged brain, and alpha, coming from someone who may be relaxing or recalling something. Theta waves are omitted from a daydreaming-like state, and delta waves are those that generally stem from a deep sleep. Therefore, our tests may generate some theta waves, but the delta and theta waves are not the aim of our analysis.
Is there anything you encountered that was especially difficult during the research?
Recognizing and analyzing alpha and beta waves becomes easier to do as time goes on. However, learning these procedures and how to work the program took a while to understand, per Dr. Cohen’s feedback on my analysis.
What did you find most interesting about your research?
The most exciting part of my research is visualizing brain activity. Although I analyze full brain scans from previous subjects, I also watch the tests conducted on new subjects. When a new emotional stimulus is added to the test, the team can visually see the brain’s reaction to these stimuli, which is incredible.
Lastly, do you have any advice for students interested in lab positions?
As the slogan goes, “Just do it.” Don’t hesitate to ask your professor about their research and ask if you can partake because you’ll end up [being a part of] in something fascinating that will be a talking point for you in the future. The idea of research being just another item on your resume shouldn’t be the goal when trying to solidify a position. Research reflects the growth in your pre-med journey, where you actively participate in challenging classes and are being trusted by highly respected Professors to partake in their life work. This is an impressive accomplishment, one that any undergraduate student can take great pride in, as it reflects both hard work and dedication.
Photo Caption: Charles Kleinman
Photo Credit: Charles Kleinman