Meet Manasi Parulekar, Statistics Summer Scholar

Every year, the Department of Statistics offers summer scholarships to a number of students so they can work with our staff on real-world projects. We’ll be profiling them on Stats Chat. 

Manasi is working with Dr Yannan Jiang on a project titled Bariatric surgery and diabetic retinopathy progression. She explains:

“Bariatric surgery is an effective method to achieve rapid weight reduction along with a sustained remission of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the effect of the surgery on the progression of diabetes retinopathy (DR) – retinal damage that can lead to loss of vision in both the short and long term – is not documented.

“It is hypothesised that bariatric surgery could be associated with a worsening of DR. In this project, I will be working together with Debbie Chen, a medical student from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, under the joint supervision of Dr Rinki Murphy and Dr Yannan Jiang, to assess the impact of bariatric surgery on DR among patients with T2D.

“This research is very useful, as the results will be used to create the first retinal screening protocols for those having undergone bariatric surgery. So we’ll be creating guidelines to channel limited resources and identify those most at risk.

“I have completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology and Pharmacology and a Graduate Diploma in Statistics. In 2014 I will be doing my Honours in Statistics.

“Statistics excites me as it is an incredibly diverse field that is applicable to almost everything we do. It is fun to be able to break down large datasets to find patterns and solve problems to get a better understanding of the world around us. The Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland has made the experience especially enjoyable as the lecturers are friendly and approachable and the administration staff are very helpful, creating a great environment in which to learn.

“Over the summer, I will be relaxing by drawing, catching up with family and friends – and I am spending two weeks in India around New Year.”