Expectations
As I arrived a two weeks ago, I really had very little idea what to expect and was honestly kind of happy about that. (I realize that its been three weeks now but forgot to click publish when I wrote this up over a week ago). I had no clue about anything from my apartment to the lab. My past experience in labs has been largely limited to coursework and working in a lab full time was a new experience altogether. The only thing that I was actually aware of was the subject of this lab's research. They worked with HuR and other RNA binding proteins and I did find that emerging area of genetics to be nothing short of fascinating. Its one of the last truly unexplored fronteirs of molecular biology.
Of course, two weeks here does help to put things into perspective a bit. After talking for hours with several guys around the lab I found that the world of post-transcriptional regulation far surpassed any expectation I could have ever harbored. That world proved huge, fascinating, and, best of all, full of unanswered questions. I have also begun to the slow acquisition of the vast library of lab techniques used to tease apart the mysteries of microbiology.
As for my expectations for the rest of this summer, its always difficult to tell exactly what the future holds. I have managed to start up my own experiments for the summer project (more on that next time) and I certainly expect to see those to completion over the following weeks. Additionally, I know that whatever twists the summer takes, this lab will continue to teach me both the biology and the analytical skills necesary to make progress into the unknown.
