I was extremely grateful when I found out I was accepted to the Howard Hughes Research Fellowship. I have known for quite some time that I wanted to spend my summer in a lab, which made this program especially appealing since it covered both housing and stipend. I was worried I would need to work both in the lab and Chipotle (apparently there is a free burrito every shift!) after work just to come out of my summer even. However, in the end I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to participate in the HHRF and I plan to make the most of it.
I am currently employed in the Poss lab in the Department of Cell Biology. The Poss lab’s primary research goal is to study fin, heart, and spinal cord regeneration using zebrafish as a model organism. I have been employed in the Poss lab since the beginning of January 2014 and wanted to continue on this summer and into the next academic year (hopefully I can remain employed here until May 2017). I work directly under Chen-Hui Chen, PhD, on a fin regeneration project in which we identify and characterize regeneration mutants. During the spring semester I was working on a genetic screen in an attempt to identify the genes that were causing the block in regeneration for these mutants. This summer, however, I will be characterizing a couple of the mutants using several protocols new to me.
With this in mind, I would like to make the most out of my summer research experience in a number of ways. First, I would like to learn as many new protocols relevant to the lab as possible. The more techniques I learn, the better equipped I will be to begin designing my own experiments and taking on an independent project of my own. Second, I would love to be able to produce publication quality research, which I feel is a goal many of my fellow participants share. Lastly, I would like to build strong relationships amongst my fellow participants in the program. The HHRF is not my first summer research program. I participated in a summer research program last summer in Israel with 80 participants from 17 different nations. One of my favorite aspects of my summer of research in Israel was being able to build lasting friendships with people who have similar interests as myself, so I would hope to have a similar experience with this program.
