{"151701":{"#nid":"151701","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Summer of Monks, Neuroscience","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESome spend their summers doing research abroad or enjoying family time at the beach \u2014 Lena Ting spends hers debating basic principles of neuroscience with Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns in India.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince 2008, Ting has participated in the Emory University Tibet Science Initiative that aims to educate a cohort of monks and nuns on the basics of math, biology, neuroscience and physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany of the participants enter the monastery at age nine and only learn Buddhist philosophy,\u201d said Ting, an associate professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. \u201cBut in neuroscience, my area,\u0026nbsp; we challenge a lot of that philosophy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETing became involved with the program in fall of 2008. Since then, she has volunteered to spend much of her academic years planning lectures for the 60 hours the team spends teaching program participants over two weeks each summer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMost of these students are in their late 20s and 30s and have completed at least 10 years of Buddha study \u2014 similar to being on a PhD track,\u201d Ting said. \u201cThey have a tradition of lively debate in the monasteries, which leads to some of the most engaged in-class discussions I\u2019ve ever been a part of.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the challenges Ting has faced is that these students have centuries-old explanations for things such as pain and negative emotions \u2014 explanations that don\u2019t necessarily agree with the explanations that modern scientists, such as Ting, have to offer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis leads to the most interesting interactions, because who is to say who is right and who is wrong,\u201d she added. \u201cBoth sides offer valid points.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe program includes two five-year cohorts, one of which graduated this year and the other will next year. Members of the cohorts will go on to start science programs in monasteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Ting.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat did you want to be when you were a child, and how did you end up at Tech?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI initially wanted to be an astronaut. In college, I studied mechanical engineering, and gradually I became interested in robotics and animal movement, which translated into an interest in how humans walk and the role the nervous system plays in this process. When it was time to look for a job, Georgia Tech and Emory were two of the places I wanted to work, based on the neuroscience and engineering programs offered. I\u2019ve been at Tech for 10 years now.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExplain your research in a few sentences.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EI study how your brain controls your body, especially when it comes to standing and walking. So a lot of my research focuses on working with people who have Parkinson\u2019s disease or have had a spinal injury or stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us a few things about your research that others might not be aware of.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI took standing and managing to balance for granted \u2014 and used to think \u201cthis isn\u2019t even a movement!\u201d But this process is actually a lot harder than a lot of us realize. Also, I find inspiration in what animals are doing. For example, you can learn a lot from how a flamingo or an elephant moves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best advice you\u2019ve ever received?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn graduate school, a peer told me to never use an alarm clock. That way, you sleep as much as your body needs to. To this day, I still try to follow this advice as often as possible, and I often share it with my students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite spot on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI don\u2019t leave the office much. But I really like how the green space between Clough Commons and the Student Center has developed. It\u2019s much more open and enjoyable now.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere is your favorite place to have lunch, and what do you order?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003ERibs N Blues, and I order the rib sandwich. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something unique about yourself that others might not be aware of.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI play ultimate Frisbee, and my team in grad school won a national championship.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESome spend their summers doing research abroad or enjoying family time at the beach \u2014 Lena Ting spends hers debating basic principles of neuroscience with Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns in India.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Some spend their summers doing research abroad or enjoying family time at the beach \u2014 Lena Ting spends hers debating basic principles of neuroscience with Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns in India."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-09-05 08:43:19","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:47","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-04T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"151631":{"id":"151631","type":"image","title":"Lena Ting","body":null,"created":"1449178848","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:40:48","changed":"1475894787","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:27","alt":"Lena Ting","file":{"fid":"195206","name":"lena.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lena_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lena_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":295496,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lena_0.jpg?itok=aeBQlEHg"}}},"media_ids":["151631"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14219","name":"Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"42541","name":"Emory University Tibet Science Initiative"},{"id":"2266","name":"Lena Ting"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}