One Week Down, Six to Go
Hello everybody! My name is Jenifer B. and I am a rising junior who is participating in the Howard Hughes research program. Well, this week I was supposed to post pictures of the people in my lab but I experienced some technical difficulties. So, instead I will try to sum up what my first week in the howard hughes research program has been like.
First off, let me tell you, there has been a lot of pipeting. On the first day we learned how to pipet. Now, I'm pipettign everyday in the lab. One thing I have learned is if you want to be a research scientist working in a laboratory, you need to know how to pipet.
During our morning sessions, the other 14 kids and I have been running gels, cloning bacteria, and centrifuging tubes. The morning sessions are really informative; we learn a lot of laboratory techniques and soon we will be hearing from speakers which I am looking forward to.
But, the real fun is in the lab. I am working with Dr. Rausher in the biology labs where we are looking at genes that cause color changes in flowers. The part of the day where I get to work independently (with the guidance of my temporary mentor, Stacey) on real experiments is what I look forward to the most. Already, I know how to make an agarose gel, run the PCR machine (with instructions), prepare a PCR, and so much more, all by myself. I love the independence of the lab and I am looking forward tobeing able to work there the whole day.
Well, so far my experiece has been great. I love what I'm doing and I'm not bored to death. I think that makes for a happy outlook on the next 6 weeks. Hopefully I will have helped the experiements in my lab and I will have come away with a great experience by the time my six weeks are through.
