I guess the first year of college is a labyrinth for everybody to some extent. We all have countless questions, endless curiosity, as well as apprehension for the unknown future. It is a period of time for us to explore and discover – both the larger world and ourselves: I want to open my mind and know more about different fields of industry or academia; at the same time, I need to ask myself questions and find out my passions. Experiences at Duke exposed me to many exciting areas such as Biomedical Engineering. It absolutely sounds fascinating, but only hearing about it is far from enough. In the summer I want to actually engage in research of BME to gain a deeper understanding of the field. As for me, I still remain unsure about what I love. I am definitely interested in research and medicine, but I am not sure whether I like natural sciences or engineering. Since the most effective way to decide is by trying things out, I hope my experiences in this summer can give me a better idea of my passions. My goals for this summer are:
- To understand what being a researcher means by experiencing it.
- To decide whether I like engineering or natural sciences.
- To decide whether I should be a PhD.
- To make some contributions to science
So here comes my first month of the summer.
Since I did not have many things to do at the beginning of the summer except for taking hot air balloon (and God that was amazing!) I joined the lab early. Turned out that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Nervous and excited, I stepped into the Gersbach and met Ami and Pratiksha, my secondary mentors. I feel very lucky to have them as my mentors. They are super nice and patient. For the last three weeks they taught me many procedures step by step. I’ve learned a lot about the research in the lab and I found it absolutely fascinating. To my knowledge our lab is using various technology to manipulate gene regulatory circuits. We are now focusing on a new technology that utilizes CRISPR/Cas9 system. CRISPR/Cas9 system is originally found in bacterial immune system as an adaptive defense mechanism. It targets foreign sequence by RNA: DNA interaction. It allows us to target specific sequences and manipulate the gene expression precisely. For me, I am interested in transforming fibroblast cells into smooth muscle cells by activating transcription factors of smooth muscle cells using CRISPR/Cas9. My project is in progress and I am very excited about my first trial!
