When first entering the Chilkoti Lab, you’ll take notice of the giant flasks around the room filled with dark golden liquids and covered in foil. Like most other things in the lab, these flasks are one of the many tools used to grow and collect bacteria. The Chilkoti Lab focuses on working in the microscopic world as they try to collect ELPs, proteins that are soluble and insoluble under certain temperatures and can be created by bacteria. These are then studied to see how to best use ELPs to improve drug delivery and therapy as a whole. To collect these proteins, a variety of instruments and procedures must be employed.
I have not had much research experience in my past. I have never officially worked in a lab or carried out complex experiments, and so my knowledge on how a lab functions was minimal. Entering the Chilkoti Lab, I felt slightly nervous and intimidated by what I was about to begin working on. Thankfully, my mentor greeted me with plenty of advice and support as she began to teach me more about mini preps, creating petri dishes, and other essential skills. Over the summer, I hope to continue learning more about the bacterial and molecular world, as well as increase my knowledge of drug therapy. I also hope to gain more experience carrying out common protocols and remembering important information that is relevant to the lab. Finally, I hope that I will be able to gain some form of independence over the summer and allow myself to get used to the usual responsibilities of the lab on my own.
I expect this summer to be difficult at first, especially when having to keep track of all the steps in a protocol or learning where everything is located around the lab. Yet, I also expect I will learn first-hand how to conduct scientific research and the challenges that come along with it.
