This summer I had the privilege of participating in the WISE program. I came to hear about this program through a medical sciences seminar, and again at an informational meeting presented by the office of undergraduate research. With nothing to lose, and a lot to gain, I decided to pursue interests in research and apply to the program.
The application process of this internship was the closest thing that I can imagine co-op students experiencing. I went through a list of ~35 various projects with brief descriptions, and chose 3 that sounded interesting to me. I proceeded to then email the Principal Investigator (PI) of each of the 3 labs to set up a meeting to determine if my presence and skills were a match for the project.
I interviewed with Dr. Burns as my last interview, and I enjoyed talking with her so much, that I asked to meet with her the next week. That's when I knew for sure that I wanted to study endometriosis in the Burns Lab.
It wasn't just the conversation that inspired me to meet with Dr. Burns, endometriosis is something that I've vaguely known about throughout my life as my mother has this disease. The fact that my mom has endometriosis, and I potentially do as well, has made this research much more meaningful for me. It's not some abstract concept that will never affect me, as I feel like research often implies. I know what the real effects of this disease feel like, and I know why it's so important to research, along with other reproductive diseases.
The application process of this internship was the closest thing that I can imagine co-op students experiencing. I went through a list of ~35 various projects with brief descriptions, and chose 3 that sounded interesting to me. I proceeded to then email the Principal Investigator (PI) of each of the 3 labs to set up a meeting to determine if my presence and skills were a match for the project.
I interviewed with Dr. Burns as my last interview, and I enjoyed talking with her so much, that I asked to meet with her the next week. That's when I knew for sure that I wanted to study endometriosis in the Burns Lab.
It wasn't just the conversation that inspired me to meet with Dr. Burns, endometriosis is something that I've vaguely known about throughout my life as my mother has this disease. The fact that my mom has endometriosis, and I potentially do as well, has made this research much more meaningful for me. It's not some abstract concept that will never affect me, as I feel like research often implies. I know what the real effects of this disease feel like, and I know why it's so important to research, along with other reproductive diseases.
Starting on May 6th, I started with the most basic of lab techniques, pipetting and measuring water. I learned about the basics of cell culture, and how to perform various other experiments.I worked with cell lines that were created from mouse model endometrial lesions to study how fast the cells grew, if they moved through membranes, and if they invaded tissue. In the picture above, I am in the process of counting the cells to determine their rate of growth for the proliferation assay.
These are the kind of pictures I always associated with research, a bunch of fancy pipettes, random beakers, and various colored liquids. Though yes, these things are still relevant, I know that experiments are little bit more than what meets the eye. Only now I know that most of the time pictures like these are incredibly staged, and no one actually smiles that much when they use a micropipette.
These are the kind of pictures I always associated with research, a bunch of fancy pipettes, random beakers, and various colored liquids. Though yes, these things are still relevant, I know that experiments are little bit more than what meets the eye. Only now I know that most of the time pictures like these are incredibly staged, and no one actually smiles that much when they use a micropipette.
After 12 weeks of engaging and sometimes tedious research, I presented my work in front of my WISE fellows, family and friends. I enjoyed talking about reproductive health, and I knew that this was something I want to continue in the future. My PI and I are anticipating starting an endometriosis outreach program with the Endometriosis Foundation of America where we will talk to middle and high schoolers about this disease.
I am so grateful for this opportunity, and I look forward to the fulfilling work I'll be doing coming this fall as I continue research in Dr. Burns' lab.