Just like my FFWOC (first, “first week of classes”) back in August 2022, my FFWOR has already been filled with a lot of work as we have hit the ground running. Despite having to read seemingly endless academic papers and complete neverending laboratory training courses in just the first few days, there has been much to learn, as most of the information is already ten times more interesting than the prerequisite calculus courses. To clarify, I am working in Dr. Sharon Gerecht’s lab this summer (the PI), focusing mainly on microfluidic devices and different designs to get the best results when engineering microvessels on a chip.
I hope to learn as much as possible about the work and lives of the biomedical engineers and related professions in this lab, as that is what I hope to pursue in the future. I have always loved jigsaw puzzles and Rubik’s cubes since a young age, which nurtured my interest in problem-solving (and now I get to solve problems for a living as an engineer? let’s hope I don’t regret the Pratt life). I also had an amazing biology teacher in high school who was very influential in my life and thus spent three years with her in three different levels of biology (shoutout to Ms. Pardo!). Consequently, I couldn’t pick between my two passions and landed on the interdisciplinary major of biomedical engineering, of which I survived the first year of undergrad!
I’m very excited to be working on my first-ever research experience through BSURF and hope to learn as much as I can from my mentor, Emily. She showed me some of the procedures they run in the lab, such as using a biosafety cabinet and cell staining & imaging. Although it was only preliminary stuff, I already feel more welcome and am growing accustomed to the lab life after just my first week.
