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No Business Like Show Business: Internships at NYU Los Angeles

Sean sits on a couch across from his supervisor as people walk by in the background

Sean discusses a project with his supervisor at Atlantic Records

While attending NYU Los Angeles, students from across the University enroll in the Experiential Learning Seminar. Taught by entertainment and media industry professionals, the seminar focuses on key areas like production, business, and criticism. A requirement of the NYU Los Angeles program, the seminar pairs classroom learning with real-world experience to integrate professional development and relevant research and debate and expand students’ understanding of how these industries work.

Discovering New Aspirations

Sean Kelly, a Music Business major and recording artist, has always been interested in the arts. In his first year at NYU, he fell in love with the business side of the industry while learning about record contracts and royalties. He knew NYU Los Angeles was the right place to augment his academic work with professional experience. As soon as Sean was admitted to the program, he applied for internships at his dream companies, one of which was the Warner Music Group. Atlantic Records, a label under Warner Music Group, hired him, and he was thrilled to be a sales and streaming intern.

Sean Kelly Portrait

Sean Kelly

Sean worked with various departments to ensure projects were ready for release and tracked streaming performance across channels. “Sitting in meetings gave me the scoop on how different departments function,” he says. “Communication and flexibility are huge skills to have in the music industry, and they’re ones I developed on the job.”

The internship reinforced Sean’s love for the music industry, but it also taught him about new positions and departments he didn’t know existed. “I definitely have new aspirations because of my deeper understanding of how labels operate,” he says. “I left LA with new career prospects and goals as well as completely new passions and interests.”

Building a Network

Margo Resnik portrait

Margo Resnik

Margo Resnik, Tisch School of the Arts Class of 2022, majored in Cinema Studies and knew she wanted to work in the film industry. But she also craved a role that would include analysis and history. After transferring from a community college in Santa Monica, CA, to NYU, she spent a year in New York City and then realized NYU Los Angeles would be a better fit for her goals: to be close to the film industry and graduate early.

Finding an internship in the competitive Los Angeles market wasn’t easy, but Margo credits NYU Los Angeles with making the process as smooth as possible. “They have a running list of new and upcoming postings that is updated daily, and they use every connection they have to help introduce you to different companies and people,” she says. Margo’s hard work and patience paid off when Artist Publishing Group hired her as a marketing intern last fall. During the internship, Margo learned many practical skills, but the relationships she formed were more important to her. “My boss was so incredibly helpful,” she says. “I’m still in contact with him, and he regularly reaches out to see how I am doing and provide me with leads for potential jobs. The entire experience has shown me there are people in this industry who truly want to help you.” 

Written by Kristin Maffei

NYU Students Live and Learn Abroad Thanks to Global Awards

A young woman standing in a glittering urban center looking up.For many students at NYU, a global education isn’t just an option, it’s a given. Gaining international experience provides students with a springboard to hone language skills, pursue advanced research, and build a global network. Many of NYU’s aspiring overseas scholars apply to available scholarships and fellowships to make their dreams of going abroad a reality. Competitive awards provide singular opportunities to explore the world and continue one of the many values seeded at NYU—being a global citizen. It is a lifelong educational pursuit, and students and alumni have a full office—the Office of Global Awards (OGA)—at NYU dedicated to helping them determine the best fit for them and prepare competitive application materials. So, following the recent announcement that NYU is one of the top producers of Fulbright US students, we’re celebrating the scholars who embody the NYU ethos of a campus without walls on the global stage.

Fulbright Program

OGA runs NYU’s internal Fulbright advising and endorsement process, offering students and alumni support, from workshops and modules to accountability and community, throughout the process. Last year, 25 NYU students and alumni were awarded Fulbright grants to research, study, or teach abroad. Fulbright scholars were in countries as diverse as Brazil, Estonia, Indonesia, Jamaica, South Africa, Spain, and Sri Lanka. For this year’s Fulbright process, 67 NYU students are currently semifinalists, and results will be announced later this semester.

Rhodes Scholarship

Perhaps one of the most well-known scholarships, the Rhodes Scholarship grants students the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford as a fully funded and full-time postgraduate student. Gustė Gurčinaitė, an NYU Abu Dhabi Class of 2023 student, is currently majoring in Political Science with minors in Environmental Studies and Legal Studies. As a 2023 Rhodes Scholar, Gustė intends to pursue an MPhil in Environmental Change and Management.

Critical Language Scholarship

The US Department of State classifies certain languages as “critical languages.” That is, languages essential to national security and economic success. The Critical Language Scholarship Program, sponsored by the US Department of State, takes US students abroad for eight to 10 weeks for an intensive study and immersive cultural experience. Two undergraduate NYU students received the award in 2022. Christina Lee, an NYU College of Arts and Science East Asian Studies and Journalism double major, studied Chinese in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Luna Belle Vassão, a Global Liberal Studies major with a concentration in politics, rights, and development studied Japanese in Okayama, Japan.

Marshall Scholarship

By studying in the United Kingdom, Marshall scholars gain a unique understanding and lasting appreciation of everything the country has to offer. The two-year graduate school scholarship supports academically gifted and personally talented US students while they study in the UK. This award helps support storyteller and activist Callie Holley, Tisch School of the Arts Class of 2022, in her pursuit of an MA in Black Studies at Birmingham City University. Callie was one of four finalists from NYU considered for the scholarship in 2022 and the fourth NYU recipient to receive the scholarship in the past three years.

George J. Mitchell Scholarship

Sponsored by the US-Ireland Alliance, the Mitchell Scholarship introduces and connects accomplished, community-minded students to the island of Ireland. Each year, up to 12 Mitchell Scholars are chosen to conduct postgraduate study abroad in the discipline of their choice at any institution in Ireland or Northern Ireland. In 2021 Marilu Duque, Tandon School of Engineering Class of 2019, was selected from a pool of over 450 students. At Technological University Dublin, Marilu studied Criminology with a focus on cybercrime.

Schwarzman Scholars

As China’s role as a global power grows and becomes more complex, it’s increasingly important that the next generation of leaders understands this country of nearly 1.5 billion people. Schwarzman Scholars attend Tsinghua University in Beijing, where they complete a one-year master’s degree in Global Affairs. Throughout the year, they deepen their appreciation of Chinese culture and commerce through lectures, mentorship, language instruction, and travel. NYU students from across schools and majors have won the highly selective award. In 2022 four NYU students were named Schwarzman Scholars; in 2023 that number increased to six.

Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship

The Gilman Scholarship program provides study abroad scholarships to US undergraduate students who currently receive a Federal Pell Grant as part of their tuition. Over the last two years, 48 NYU students received the Gilman Scholarship to support their study abroad experience. While awards typically average up to $5,000, students who apply to the Critical Need Language Award can receive additional funding. Critical languages as of 2023 include Arabic, Bangla, Japanese, Korean, and Turkish.

NYU and KAIST Celebrate New Partnership

A visit by South Korea’s president and the New York City mayor to NYU marks an important global academic partnership

KAIST President Lee Kwang Hyung with NYU President Andrew Hamilton

KAIST President Lee Kwang Hyung and NYU President Andrew Hamilton celebrate the NYU-KAIST partnership. ©Chandler: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

New York University and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) recently celebrated their new partnership at an event that included South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, New York City mayor Eric Adams, NYU board of trustees chair William R. Berkley, NYU president Andrew Hamilton, and KAIST president Lee Kwang Hyung. The event included the City of New York and the KAIST delegation signing a cooperation agreement as well as unveiling signage for the anticipated joint New York City campus.

Collaboration Through Research

The partnership will focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, humanities, and mathematics, commencing with a series of research collaborations involving some 50 faculty members from the two institutions in areas such as biomedical engineering, AI convergence, neuroscience, next-generation wireless communications, cybersecurity, and sustainability, among other areas. In addition, discussions have begun between faculty of the two institutions regarding the possibility of establishing a joint undergraduate engineering degree program, as well as a study away program that would include intensive practical learning and industry experience in both countries.

Joint Programs and Student Exchange

The two universities have already identified dedicated space on each campus for their nascent joint collaborations. In New York City, the NYU-KAIST offices will be located at One MetroTech Center, at the heart of NYU’s Downtown Brooklyn campus specializing in engineering, tech, new media, and arts. KAIST will provide space for NYU personnel on their campus. With the goal of establishing a campus in New York City by 2025, KAIST has also been in discussion with New York City officials about its plans.

A Beneficial Partnership

“We’re proud to have helped facilitate this partnership between KAIST and New York University, which will be a real win for students and help drive continued innovation in our city,” said New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams. “From the time that senior members of our administration learned about this opportunity during a recent trip to South Korea, we have worked closely with KAIST to develop strategies for increasing their presence and investments in New York City. This is the start of a relationship that I am confident will bring even more academic, business, and technological opportunities to the five boroughs.”

“We’re delighted by our newly established partnership with KAIST,” said NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton. “We see great potential in the opportunities to collaborate on the development of courses, research, cutting-edge technologies, entrepreneurship initiatives and industrial partnerships, and exchanges. We believe this partnership is very much in line with NYU’s commitment to global engagement and will make important contributions to New York’s tech sector. It’s exciting to think how much NYU and KAIST have to learn from one another, and how much we may accomplish together.”

“We are very excited to have our institution come together with NYU to begin pursuing a common vision: joining forces to advance technology-based research and education; playing a leading role in addressing global challenges and problems through science and technology; and building stronger ties between Korea and the United States,” said KAIST’s President Kwang Hyung Lee. “This partnership with an institution that shares our sense of cutting-edge research and global social responsibility recalls the spirit of international partnership and assistance that led to the creation of KAIST in 1971.”

Content repurposed with permission from NYU News.

NYU London Professor Valerie Wells Published in Cancer Gene Therapy

βGBP cytokine, a naturally occurring molecule in the human body, has the ability to induce cell death in cancer cells, finds a new study from NYU London professor Valerie Wells and King’s College London professor Livio Mallucci. Published in Cancer Gene Therapy, their coauthored paper on the mechanisms of cell signaling and gene expression reports that the molecule can regulate cell proliferation by either controlling an intrinsic S phase (DNA replication) checkpoint in normal cells or inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells. Their findings provide a rationale for understanding how a process that naturally controls cell proliferation has extended anticancer potentials.

Collaboration with King’s College London

According to Wells, her research has progressed over many years while working with Professor Mallucci and the King’s College London Cell Signalling and Growth Laboratory. Their recent paper is an extension of previous work, including their 2019 publication in the British Journal of Cancer, where they report that the βGBP cytokine is a “physiological inducer of procedures that lead to immunogenic cell death.” Unlike chemotherapy treatments, which carry associated toxicity, Wells and her team showed that the βGBP cytokine is a safe immune molecule that acts as a tumor suppressor with the potential for long-term protection against cancer. This paper provides “direct experimental evidence for a rationale to explore the potential of a strategy based on the use of a natural immunomolecule with no innate toxicity.”

Professor Valerie Wells, a Brief Biography

Valerie Wells

Professor Valerie Wells

Professor Valerie Wells is a research scientist and lecturer at NYU London who studies the operation of signaling pathways in different cell types. After the βGBP cytokine was found to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, Wells continued her research by investigating the molecular signaling pathways the βGBP cytokine controls to regulate the normal cell cycle and cause programmed cell death and immunogenic cell death in tumor cells.

During her time at NYU, Wells has fused her passion for research and teaching into one meaningful career. “The combination of research and teaching is both enjoyable and valuable,” she says. “NYU students’ commitment to their studies, their ideas, and their discussions and their interest in relating their studies to the wider context provide an interesting and stimulating atmosphere for the teaching aspect of my career.”

To read the full paper by Wells and Mallucci, titled “Intrinsic S phase checkpoint enforced by an antiproliferative oncosuppressor cytokine,” visit Cancer Gene Therapy. To read their 2019 paper, titled “Sourcing the immune system to induce immunogenic cell death in Kras-colorectal cancer cells,” visit the British Journal of Cancer.

Written by Samantha Jamison

Bilingualism Comes Naturally to Our Brains

The brain uses a shared mechanism for combining words from a single language as well as ones from two different languages, a team of neuroscientists has discovered. The findings indicate that switching languages comes naturally to those who are bilingual because the brain has a mechanism that does not detect that the language has switched, allowing for a seamless transition in the comprehension of more than one language at once.

“Our brains are capable of engaging in multiple languages,” explains Sarah Phillips, an NYU linguistics doctoral candidate and the lead author of the paper, “Composition within and between Languages in the Bilingual Mind,” which appears in the journal eNeuro. “Languages may differ in what sounds they use and how they organize words to form sentences. However, all languages involve the process of combining words to express complex thoughts.”

“Bilinguals show a fascinating version of this process—their brains readily combine words from different languages, much like when combining words from the same language,” adds Liina Pylkkänen, the codirector of the Neuroscience of Language Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, a professor in NYU’s linguistics and psychology departments, and the paper’s senior author.

A teacher instructs a student writing letters on a whiteboard

An estimated 60 million people in the United States use at least two languages, according to the US Census. Across the globe, the majority of people know more than one language. Indeed, many countries have more than one official national language.

Unsurprisingly, in today’s highly globalized world, bilingualism provides a variety of meaningful social and practical advantages. People using multiple languages can converse with a wider array of people, and they can also more readily connect across cultures and adjust to new situations. At NYU, students studying away benefit from exploring new places and having new experiences as members of the University’s global network. But they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a different language, deepening their experience and sharpening their minds.

Yet, despite the domestic and international widespread nature and evident benefits of bi- and multilingualism, the neurological mechanisms used to understand and produce more than one language are not well understood. This terrain is an intriguing one; bilinguals often mix their two languages together as they converse with one another, raising questions about how the brain functions in such exchanges.

Phillips and Pylkkänen sought to better understand these processes. They explored whether bilinguals interpret these mixed-language expressions using the same mechanisms as when comprehending single-language expressions or, alternatively, if understanding mixed-language expressions engages the brain in a unique way.

To test this, the scientists measured the neural activity of Korean and English bilinguals. The study’s subjects viewed a series of word combinations and pictures on a computer screen. Then, they indicated whether or not the picture matched the preceding words. The words either formed a two-word sentence or were simply a pair of verbs that did not combine into a meaningful phrase (such as, “icicles melt” versus “jump melt”). In some instances, the two words came from a single language (Korean or English) while others used both languages, with the latter mimicking mixed-language conversations.

In order to measure the study subjects’ brain activity during these experiments, the researchers deployed magnetoencephalography. The technique maps neural activity by recording magnetic fields generated by the electrical currents produced by our brains.

The recordings showed that Korean and English bilinguals, in interpreting mixed-language expressions, used the same neural mechanism as they did while interpreting single-language expressions. Specifically, the brain’s left anterior temporal lobe, a brain region well studied for its role in combining the meanings of multiple words, was insensitive to whether the words it received were from the same language or from different languages. This region, then, proceeded to assign complex meaning to two related words regardless of whether they shared a language.

These findings suggest that language switching is natural for bilinguals because the brain has a combinatory mechanism that does not “sense” the language has switched. “Earlier studies have examined how our brains can interpret an infinite number of expressions within a single language,” Phillips observes. “This research shows bilingual brains can, with striking ease, interpret complex expressions containing words from different languages.”

You can watch Phillips discussing her research on bilingual speakers in this NYU-produced video (credit: NYU, courtesy of Kate Lord).

Content repurposed with permission from NYU News

Professor Li Li Unpacks the Mysteries of the Brain

Professor Li Li’s career has taken her across the globe, from Lanzhou to Beijing and Rhode Island to Hong Kong. As a professor of neural science and psychology at NYU Shanghai, she’s worked in academia, at NASA, and in the private sector all while raising two daughters. Recently, she met with the NYU Shanghai News team to reflect on her journey across continents and industries—and share how she found her way back to academia in Shanghai.

You started your academic career as a Psychology major at Peking University (PKU). How did you settle on neuroscience as your field of study?

I followed a very typical growth path of a good Chinese student back in high school in Lanzhou, Gansu. I was good at taking exams and got a good grade on the gaokao [the national college entrance exams] to get into PKU. When deciding on my major, I picked Psychology because it seemed the most interesting and could provide me with opportunities to interact with people.

Psychology has many subareas, and I felt most interested in using experimental and computational methods to study rules and mechanisms underlying our cognition, which is also known as cognitive psychology. I still remember the shock I experienced when I entered the Perception, Action and Cognition Lab at Brown University for the first time about 20 years ago. Researchers in the lab were using these visual displays and virtual reality techniques to conduct scientific experiments and expand the boundaries of knowledge with so much passion. It made me say, “Wow, this is so cool!”

As a typical “science person,” the most attractive aspect of scientific research for me is that it allows data to speak for itself. I initially focused on memory and representation, but later on, I found that it was not strongly driven by data in many ways. So I shifted my focus to perception and action. I enjoy using scientific methodologies to study brains, and I am obsessed with the beauty of the logic, precision, and scientificity of research. I’m always searching for the keys to unaddressed questions through research.

You’ve worked in both academia and industry. How did you finally settle on university research and teaching as your life’s work?

After obtaining my PhD from Brown University and working as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School, I gradually lost confidence in my career as an academic. I foresaw the entire career path, which lacked surprises and dampened my enthusiasm. I wanted to explore more possibilities, so I went into industry.

I worked as a human factors scientist at an engineering and scientific consulting firm in the Bay Area of California. But I soon became bored with the simple and repetitive procedural work I was assigned to do every day. More importantly, I felt I was wasting my graduate and postdoctoral training. Though the university salary was not as competitive as that in industry, I realized my true joy comes from figuring out the essence of the world and deciphering the mystery of the brain.

While making all these job shifts, I constantly asked myself what on earth I was working for. Did I work for intellectual challenges or monetary reward? The majority of people will choose to go into industry, leaving only a small group of people who can endure loneliness and stick to research. I eventually realized that the “lonely” research path fits me better.

Since joining NYU Shanghai, you’ve spent a lot of time and effort on building three different labs. Could you tell us more about them?

The first lab, the Perception and Action Virtual Reality Lab, focuses on using virtual reality techniques to study perception, control of self-motion, and eye–hand coordination. The second lab is the Perception and Action Neural Mechanism Lab, which focuses on examining the related underlying neural mechanisms. The third lab is the Neuropsychology Lab at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. We study visuomotor and locomotion control in patients with neurodegenerative motor deficits, such as Parkinson’s disease.

Recently, we conducted a series of fMRI experiments and identified the areas of the brain where motion and form information are integrated for the perception of self-motion. We also examined baseball players’ basic visuomotor abilities and found that their basic eye-tracking ability could predict their potential to hit baseballs. Moreover, we discovered that visuomotor control ability becomes impaired and brain structure changes during the incubation period of neurodegenerative diseases.

As a teacher, what particular skills and traits do you encourage your students to cultivate to become more successful in the classroom or lab?

I’d like to share two things. First, the details are of paramount importance and play a decisive role in yielding extraordinary results in scientific experiments. As rigor and credibility lay the foundation for scientific research, I always ask students to pay more attention to the details, put more effort into the experimental design and the comprehension of logic, take the initiative to explore the reasons behind each step in the experiment, and prevent themselves from forgetfulness, carelessness, and taking anything for granted.

Second, long-term development in research should be supported by proficient academic writing skills. I urge my students to read more and practice their writing as much as possible so they can strengthen their sensitivity in using the English language and improve the logic and organization of their writing.

Lastly, what advice do you give to aspiring neuroscientists?

I think students who aim to study neuroscience should have intrinsic curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the nature of the brain. Thinking critically about the relationship between experiments and theory is also necessary. I suggest all students who want to make a career in science never give up or give in. In all areas of life, a successful person is not always the smartest person, but they are certainly the one who can stick it out until the end. As a perfectionist myself, I always hold an “excelsior” attitude toward work and research, and I hope that students will not be satisfied with their current situation. Only excellence can make endless progress.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Content repurposed with permission from NYU Shanghai News and Publications

What’s in a Date?

NYU researchers use “resurrection genomics” to sequence genome of extinct date palms germinated from 2,000-year-old seeds

In a recent study for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology—along with their research colleagues in Israel and France—used a technique called “resurrection genomics” to successfully sequence the genome of 2,000-year-old date palms. This study marks the first time researchers sequenced the genomes of plants from ancient, germinated seeds. The research team, led by NYU biology professor Michael Purugganan, germinated date palm seeds that were radiocarbon-dated from the 4th century BCE to the 2nd century CE to yield new, viable plants that they could, in turn, use to conduct whole genome sequencing.

Date palm

A date palm germinated from a 2,200 year old seed growing in Israel
Photo credit: Marcos Schonholz/The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

What Did They Learn?

By examining the genome of a species called Phoenix dactylifera that thrived millennia ago, Purugganan and his team determined how these previously extinct Judean date palms evolved over time. Between the 4th century BCE and 2nd century CE, they observed that date palms in the eastern Mediterranean region showed increasing levels of genes from another species, called Phoenix theophrasti, which grows in Crete and other Greek islands as well as southwestern Turkey today due to the hybridization between species. The team concluded that the increasing levels of genes from P. theophrasti during this time signifies the increasing influence of the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean region.

New Possibilities with Resurrection Genomics

Resurrection genomics is an alternative approach for sequencing DNA that is particularly useful for studying ancient and extinct plant species, the researchers note. Ancient plant DNA can be tricky to study, as it easily degrades without the protection of material like bone and only small quantities are usually found. But regrowing the whole plant offers new possibilities.

“We are fortunate that date palm seeds can live a long time—in this case, more than 2,000 years—and germinate with minimal DNA damage in the region’s dry environment,” says Purugganan, who is also affiliated with NYU Abu Dhabi and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. “This ‘resurrection genomics’ approach is a remarkably effective way to study the genetics and evolution of past and possibly extinct species like Judean date palms. By reviving biological material, such as germinating ancient seeds from archaeological and paleontological sites or historical collections, we can not only study the genomes of lost populations but also, in some instances, rediscover genes that may have gone extinct in modern varieties.”

To read the full study from Purugganan and his team, titled “The genomes of ancient date palms germinated from 2,000 year old seeds,” head to pnas.org.

Content adapted with permission from NYU News by Samantha Jamison.