Last week I had the privilege of interviewing my PI, Dr. Amy Schmid, and asking her questions about academia and some more random things just for the fun of it. She was able to take 20 minutes out of her busy schedule so that I could learn a little bit about what makes for an awesome researcher.
Some fun facts I learned about Dr. Schmid:
-Undergrad at Marquette University(Studied biology with a minor in German)
-Graduate school at the University of Washington(Molecular and Cellular Biology PhD program)
-Postdoc at Institute for Systems Biology (And then she came to Duke!)
-She was pre-med in undergrad until senior year due to some research experiences e.g. exchange program in Germany at the Max Planck Institute.
-A great thing she likes about teaching is that through it, she can get ideas for her research.
-Enjoys the discovery aspect of science. “Detective aspect of research” in which you can solve a problem or “puzzle.”
-She likes to ride bike and run as well as hang out with friends, her husband and her dog.
-Is not a “dog person” or a “cat person” but an all-around animal lover.
-Started research her junior year of college but says she would do it sooner if she could go back in time.
-She can play the piano.
-When asked what she would eat for her last meal she said it would depend on what she was in the mood for, but she would ask her husband to make it as he is an excellent cook.
I think the biggest thing I got out of the interview was that I don’t have to know exactly what I’m going to do yet. Although I’d like to know whether or not research is for me by the end of this summer, I could figure it out my senior year and be just fine.
