If you had told me that I would be working in a full cleanroom suit this summer, I wouldn’t have believed you.
My favorite experience from the lab has been working on the fabrication of the master, which must be done in the Cleanroom of the Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF). I learned how to use several different types of tools and machines, as well as practice my benchwork techniques. I also read a LOT of papers and now have a better understanding of cell culturing, the microvascular system, and microfluidic devices. As I prepare for my final poster presentation on Friday, I hope that I get to experience many more FLWORs as I discuss my future in the lab with Dr. Gerecht; I still have to improve my pipetting before taking more labs in the fall! (Side quest, but I also hope to attend more soccer games with a few of my lab mates. We went to the Chelsea vs Wrexham game last week and even managed to get some autographs!)
As for BSURF, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the weekly outings! Thank you all for planning and organizing them for us so that we may get to know Durham better. My personal favorite was canoeing on Eno and learning to effectively splash others. And I guess it was also very engaging to hear from all our different faculty members at Duke. It was super interesting to learn about their different paths and areas of research, teaching me the diverse range of possibilities that come with biological sciences. Lastly, thank you to Dr. Grunwald, Dr. Harrell, Grace, and Kehali for helping us grow as researchers. I’ve learned a lot about the characteristics needed to be a “good scientist,” such as communication, integrity, and asking good questions. This summer was a great “free trial” at pursuing a career in biomedical engineering in research as an option, which I hope to continue with Emily and the lab. It was definitely a summer well spent under a virtually perfected program!
P.S. Here’s a pic of me with three lab mates at the aforementioned soccer match with autographed jerseys 🙂
