Week 8

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I began this program with goals of growth, and I have grown more than I could have imagined. When the pandemic started, I initially struggled with my curiosity in virtual lectures. Being in the lab, however, has helped me find...

This summer has been a whirlwind of highs (presenting my poster to faculty at Duke!) and lows (running incorrect models and wasting two whole days), but through it all my biggest takeaway is this: real people do research. It sounds so...

It’s time to reflect. Looking back at my first blog post, I originally emphasized the traits that would make me a more capable future scientist: independence, confidence, collaboration, and skepticism. I believe that, while there is plenty more room for...

Well, here we are. In less than 48 hours, I'll be boarding a plane headed home, signing off on a summer that has proven extremely toasty, challenging at times, and full of pleasant surprises. Six weeks ago, if you had...

Now that BSURF is coming to an end, it's time to reflect on these past 8 weeks. This experience has been an incredible one. I expected to learn a lot, but ended up learning much more than I could have...