Climbing up the stairs in the French Family Science Center after the morning BSURF session, I arrive at the Volkan lab where the lab technicians have already arrived. I have a good idea of the tasks I need to accomplish each day, but I go to the lab bench of my mentor and take a look at my to-do list for the day to double-check.
On some days, we need to collect virgin flies which includes sorting flies every two hours. It is important to start as early as possible, so you are able to get the optimal amount of flies needed. Other days, I need to make fly food in the morning to prepare for isolations and group-housing flies later in the week. On days when we are performing our behavioral experiment, I arrive in the lab and then set up the arenas and camera for that. The experiment is repeated two times an hour from 11 pm to 5 pm.
When my mentor arrives, I check in with her and continue my tasks for the day. On Tuesdays we have lab meetings at 11 am and Wednesdays are a check-in with Dr. Volkan. Throughout the day, I interact with the lab technicians and graduate students in the office and sometimes we have lunch at the same time. It is encouraging to see my skills and comfort level grow in the lab. For example, when first starting it would take me a long time to separate out the flies and isolate them in individual vitals. Now, I am actually helping to “teach” some of the lab techs who are also learning the fly techniques. Every day, I am learning something new and asking questions to grow in my knowledge.
Female Drosophila under a microscope.
