I would like to start by thanking Dr. Erika Sorensen-Kamakian and Dr. Walter Novak for
allowing me to be part of such a meaningful and fruitful experience. Their incredible guidance
and ability to foster growth helped me to push beyond my limits and do things I thought were
outside my abilities. I took on this research internship because I wanted to get an idea of what
working in a wet lab would be like. I am considering a career in research relating to biology, so
this biochemistry lab was a perfect fit.
I learned many applicable skills such as sterile procedure
and basic reagent production, but I also learned about the challenges of working with living
organisms. All students worked with Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), a species of nematode
worm. These worms are smaller than an eyelash with a typical lifespan between twelve to
eighteen days, so we learned methods of working with and maintaining these living worms.
Besides the items I have already listed, one thing that makes this research experience unique is
that each pair of students worked on a separate project.
All projects tied together into a similar
goal, but there was a degree of diversity between methods of achieving that goal. For example, I
worked on optimizing the operating mechanism for a protein complex called LOCKR, while
others worked by influencing the expression of genes using gene knockdown. Both projects
worked towards the goal of understanding more about C. elegans genetics, but each took on a
different facet of this goal. This independence between projects required helped to build
interconnections between students working in the lab. We had weekly lab meetings where we
presented our progress, and these meetings allowed me to get a sense of what my peers were
doing. Furthermore, this allowed me to gain a big-picture understanding of the research process
occurring throughout the laboratory.
Overall, these meetings contributed to a feeling of
connection with my peers and fostered thoughtful discussion throughout my time in the lab. In
closing, I would like to thank those who make research internships like this one possible. This
opportunity was incredibly valuable to me, and I would certainly recommend this opportunity to
anyone considering research as an aspiration or career. I enjoyed my experience a great deal, and
I hope that those who follow me find it just as meaningful as I have.
