Summer Expectations
When I think about what I hope to get out of this summer research experience, I realize that I have pretty modest expectations. From previous research projects, I know that research is repetitive, slow, and frustrating. So, honestly I am first just looking to learn lab techniques and get the hang of conducting my own experiments. Once I accomplish that, I expect to repeat the same tasks pretty much throughout the summer.
Of course, I am hoping to have my own sort of mini-project soon. Currently, I have five neural stem cell cultures to take of (I LOVE it, so fun!), and I am also performing immunocytochemistry (ICC) on these cells to stain them for various proteins. We are particularly interested in the Numb, which is a cytoplasmic fate determinant protein. If my own experiments work out, I would be able to visualize Numb localization in the descendents of neural progenitor cells. I am not exactly sure how these results fit into the whole scheme of things (need to do more reading!), but I know that currently in mammals, Numb localization has not been characterized yet. My main goals research-wise are to be able to answer the following questions when you ask me: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? And why it is interesting?
If I manage to break out of my shell in lab, I would be able to learn many things about the path of science and medicine. The members of my lab are snapshots of all stages in such careers: a rising senior applying to medical school, a graduate student, a pre-pharmacy student, MD/Phd students, an MD/Phd fellow (can you say b-u-s-y), postdocs, and even an MD/Phd instructor. They are all ridiculously busy, weaving in and out of the lab constantly, making them rather elusive when you want to talk to them (I just thought of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle…). But, they are all approachable and often have interesting stories to tell.
