Cornell University
Office of Undergraduate Biology

My experiences in the lab this past week have educated me about the process of going to graduate school and pursuing a PhD. With the GRE approaching in a little over a week, many of the undergraduates in the other labs have been furiously studying during every free moment. Most of the students are seniors at Brown and plan to go straight into graduate school or take a gap year. Hearing about the upcoming test and application process has been very interesting. I especially enjoyed talking with people that are applying for MD/PhD programs. Although a dual degree is time consuming and quite demanding, the programs sound exciting and I may consider them in the future.

Throughout the summer, I have also learned about the process of completing a PhD. When I started working, one of the lab members was completing his final experiments and getting ready to write his thesis.The preliminary draft of the document was due this week. Everyone was very excited to see the culmination of his five years of hard work. Soon he will edit the thesis and defend in front of his committee.Unfortunately, I will be back at Cornell and will not be able to watch the presentation.

Additionally, I have continued to enjoy watching the new project unfold. Because so much is unknown, every result is crucial and leads to new ideas and conclusions. I have also seen how difficult it is to hypothesize the function or role of a protein out of thin air. It is unfortunate that I only have one week left in the lab. I would really like to see the project come to fluition.

This week was my first full week of lab work since I finished assisting in the Summer at Brown class.Surprisingly, it felt as if it was my first week in the lab again! Being away from the bench for a week truly felt like an eternity. It has been great to get back into my routine and work on more experiments.

During the week of the class, some of the other lab members observed interesting results in a confocal microscopy experiment. The results have changed the current focus of the lab a bit and have essentially created a new project. I am very excited about the project because it will give me a chance to watch the scientific method in action. I will be able to see how ideas and theories are proposed and rejected and see which preliminary experiments are performed. I am looking forward to helping with a project in its infancy instead of working on projects that have already been well established.

This week I was also able to experience a very different aspect of laboratory research…animal testing. A few years ago, the lab stopped using mice for testing, but continued to breed the animals at another facility.The population of mice was become overcrowded, so I accompanied the post-doc as he took care of the problem. I was pleased by the high level of security and quality of the animal facility. The animals were being tested in a very humane manner. We had to separate the mice that were being sent for cryopreservation and the mice that were remaining in the building. Unfortunately, there was such a great deal of overcrowding that we had to euthanize some mice. Thankfully, the process was not as gruesome as I had expected. Although the trip was a good experience, I don’t think I want to work with research animals in the future.

The past eight weeks have flown by all too fast. I cannot believe that I only have two more weeks in the lab!

The past week has really made me feel as if I am back at Cornell! Instead of spending the majority of my day in the lab, I spent each afternoon as a teaching assistant in a class entitled “The Biology of Cancer”. The class was part of “Summer at Brown”, a high school summer program that introduces students to college level classes. For three hours each day, I sat in on the lecture, graded papers, and facilitated discussions.The experience was quite rewarding and taught me a lot about my interests and passions.

My favorite part of the class was leading discussions two to three times a day. Some of the topics included the role of the media in cancer research, the effectiveness of cancer screening, advancements in genetic testing, and the role of the FDA. The discussions were a great break from the hardcore biology of the lecture and allowed the students to express their opinions. I was very surprised by the insight of the students. Their comments made me look at some of the issues in a different light. Leading the discussions made me realize that I enjoy talking about the controversial aspects of the relationship between science and society. The past week has really opened my eyes to the exciting world of teaching.

Recently, the post-doc that I work with posed the question, “What do you like more, being a teaching assistant or working in the lab?” Although the class was fun, I still feel that I enjoy the lab more. I feel a great sense of satisfaction when I get exciting results or learn something new about the protein I am studying. Now that the class is over, I will return to the lab for another three weeks. I am sure that the time will fly by and before I know it I will actually be back at Cornell.