This summer, I spent seven weeks in Charlottesville, Virginia working in a biochemistry and molecular genetics lab focusing on cancer research. It was a fantastic learning experience. I consider myself very fortunate to have had this opportunity. I lived with family in the area and it was because of their connections that I had this opportunity to work in a very successful lab at the University of Virginia.
What I enjoyed most about the internship was learning how to actually do things that I had learned about in school. It's one thing to learn about Northern Blotting, it's another to harvest your own cells, prepare the samples, run a gel, and develop your very own blots. That is what I liked most. The experience further cemented processes I have learned about but it also made it much more interesting to me. I am way more interested in Molecular Biology now than I was when I took the class, for example.
In the lab, I worked with a post doc who helped me considerably. He was working on studying TIP60, and indirect cancer suppressant. I worked side by side with him and conducted my own experiments regarding a similar protein--a cousin to TIP60--called hMOF. I found it very beneficial to run my own hypothesis and my own experiments. I was able to watch a mentor conduct similar experiments, and then I was able to apply it to my own work.
Another benefit for me was simply being able to observe people work. I am currently trying to really discover what I want to do in life, and I think that can be a very hard decision. It was invaluable to me to watch first-hand what researchers actually do--what their daily routine is like. I was able to talk to PhD students and medical school students. I talked a lot with my supervisor and the lab manager regarding careers. This interaction was probably the most valuable of the whole experience.
In short, my experience was fantastic and helped me in multiple ways.
For more information visit http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/phd/gpo/srip/home-page.
No comments:
Post a Comment