July 29, 2023
By: Erika Rispoli
If I tried to summarize everything I’ve learned this summer, about complex scientific techniques, about careers in research, and about myself, I think this blog post would be a novel. My mentor, Dr. Trisha Vaidyanathan, was the key component in...
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July 2, 2023
By: Maia Goel
My schedule varies a lot depending on the day of the week: Mondays and Fridays are usually the busiest, and I hardly ever have benchwork on Wednesdays. This is because C. elegans take about three days to develop to maturity,...
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July 1, 2023
By: David Su
I start my day around 10-10:30am when I arrive at the lab. After settling in, my first task is to review my notes from the previous day. This helps me stay organized and recall the progress and outcomes of my...
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June 25, 2023
By: Maia Goel
Dr. Ryan Baugh can’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in science. When he was young, he was “always doing stuff that seemed like a young scientist, like burning stuff and trying to make bombs, fireworks, and a hot...
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June 18, 2023
By: Jarvis Savage
My research project for this summer will be to analyze various elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs). ELPs are polypeptides that incorporate the 5 amino acid long sequence of Val-Pro-Gly-Xaa-Gly, where Xaa represents an unspecific amino acid. ELPs are a kind of artificial...
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By: Erika Rispoli
The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), has increased rapidly over the past two decades. As such, much research has gone into the root causes and mechanisms of these...
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By: Arielle Kim
This summer, I will compare lichenized cyanobacteria communities to environmental cyanobacteria communities (cyanobacteria living outside the lichens) to inform how lichen-forming fungi associate with their cyanobacterial partners. For context, lichens are organisms made of symbiotic associations between algae/cyanobacteria and fungi....
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June 20, 2022
By: David Bearden
Four different bases can be stringed together in a mind-boggling amount of variations. They form one of twenty amino acids that themselves can be combined to form various proteins. My project indirectly supports my lab, Neurotoolbox, in its endeavor to...
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July 15, 2021
By: Izzy Costanzo
With all the incredible experiences I've been able to have this summer, both inside the lab and out, it shouldn't surprise me that everything came to an end so soon (time flies, and all that). It still feels unbelievable to...
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July 6, 2021
By: Joe Laforet Jr.
And just like that, B-SURF is over. These past six weeks I’ve learned a lot about myself and the things that interest me. I came into this program not knowing what I wanted to do in science, just that I...
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July 5, 2021
By: Shibani Mallik
Over a year ago, I was met with the news that BSURF would be canceled because of the pandemic. While many things have changed between then and now, I am grateful to have still been able to be a summer...
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July 4, 2021
By: Emily Prudot Gonzalez
My final blog post. Wow. I went from having not ever used a pipette to using all sorts of lab equipment, talking about antifungal targeting and gene phenotypes, and conversing with post docs about Cryptococcus! I've been introduced to the...
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July 3, 2021
By: Ben Johns
Way back when this program started, I wrote on my expectations for this summer. TL;DR I was excited about the chance to really tryout research for the first time in my life. This once far off and mysterious world was...
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By: Anuj Som
As I reflect upon the past 7 weeks, I realize just how fast time has progressed. I feel like the first two weeks I was thrown into the deep end, immersing myself in the exhausting cycle of learning and digesting...
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By: George Romero
While I have only worked in Dr. Mooney’s lab for a short time, I feel like I have learned an amount of knowledge far vaster than what I expected from a brief eight weeks of lab work. From learning lab...
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By: Megan Stone
You could tell me that the beginning of this program was 6 months ago or yesterday, and I would believe you. It feels both like I’ve been here for forever and yet somehow just arrived. While this may make...
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July 2, 2021
By: Zach Pracher
Coming into this program, I wondered if I would be able to contribute anything to the McClay lab's work with my extremely limited knowledge, and wondered precisely how many things could (and would) go wrong along the way. I wondered...
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By: Camila Rodriguez
At the beginning of this program, I remembering feeling nervous about my lack of experience in a lab setting. I was worried I wouldn't understand the complex planning and decision making that occurred in research, and that I would get...
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