ASEF Junior Fellow Grace Simenc’s Inspiring Milestones at the Laboratory Of Imaging Technologies

Grace Simenc, ASEF Junior Fellow generation 2024, just completed her research visit in Slovenia! Grace comes from San Francisco, California and has recently graduated from UC Berkeley. She is currently training as a Veterinary Surgical Assistant at Marina Banfield Pet Hospital in San Francisco and hopes to soon apply to veterinary school.

During her research visit, Grace worked at the Laboratory of Imaging Technologies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, mentored by Dr Žiga Špiclin (MORE) and Dr Žiga Bizjak (MORE).

“The Laboratory of Imaging Technologies conducts research in the field of medical imaging, especially in areas of multi-dimensional multi-modality image registration, image enhancement, image segmentation, image-guided interventions, and quantitative image analysis, and in the field of optical systems, in particular designs and develops optical methods and light propagation models for determining optical properties of turbid media utilizing optical fiber probes, spatial frequency domain and hyperspectral imaging, and digital holographic microscopy.” (source)

During her research at the Laboratory of Imaging Technologies, she worked on a data science project aimed at finding connections between mobility test (Nine Hole Peg Test) data and the disease progression of patients with Multiple Sclerosis, as estimated by brain scans and diagnostic testing.

Grace bravely took on this project by building on very little prior data science experience and successfully contributed to the team’s goal towards bringing this project to publication. In her own words:

“Each day felt like a milestone. I spent the first few days teaching myself python, and then began to take on the project in stages.”

In her free time, Grace connected with other ASEF Junior Fellows and explored Slovenia. She also took a two week Slovene language class through the University of Ljubljana, and spent the two weeks following her ASEF visit touring Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria by train before heading back to California.

“I loved every aspect of Ljubljana – the culture, beauty, architecture, people, and nature. ASEF gave me the opportunity to pursue a completely new field of research at a professional level, and connected me with friends around the world.”

We offer our sincere congratulations to Grace on her inspiring work at the Laboratory of Imaging Technologies and for successfully completing her fellowship! We hope her research visit will positively contribute to her aspirations of enrolling in veterinary school.We thank her mentors Dr Žiga Špiclin and Dr Žiga Bizjak and the entire team at the laboratory for their mentorship and guidance. We also thank the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad and all ASEF donors for supporting the work of ASEF and our Junior Fellows.