Two days ago I met the fabulous students in my Brackenridge cohort. One of them is a film and media studies major who analyzes wrestling audiences. Another is majoring in neuroscience and researching Alzheimer’s Disease. Out of everyone in my group, our projects are the most similar. We both understand and utilize tissue culture to answer our research questions, as well as microscopy and some similar biology techniques. While neuroscience is a subset of biology, our research aims differ. The other members of my group are studying environmental science and advanced mathematics. 

Although our projects may differ, my peers can teach me many valuable lessons about research. I want to learn how they overcome hardships in relation to their projects. Everyone in my group is at different stages of their research career, from rising sophomores to seniors. I feel that the older members can inspire younger members to pursue and continue in research, while the younger members can share their newly found passion for their projects. Resilience in research is a very important quality to have, and I believe that my cohort has many powerful stories to share. No matter the subject, everyone in my cohort has one thing in common: reading primary literature. Reading is essential for every project because we all must understand the experiments and studies that came before us. However, our projects themselves are quite different, especially in regards to methods. I am the only one using CRISPR, advanced genetic editing techniques, and molecular biology. It has been helpful to have the support from my cohort.

Working across disciplines has been very beneficial so far. Being a member of a research community has made me feel supported and heard, which isn’t easy given I am the only undergraduate in my lab. In my experience as a biochemistry major, most of the students in my classes are pre-med. It helps to be surrounded by others pursuing research as their end goal. The Brackenridge has also forced me to focus on the global impact of my project, and constantly reminds me of the larger implications of my research. It is easy to get caught up in the small details of a project, but the Brackenridge, and my cohort specifically, have helped me with that.  

In other news, here’s a picture of my wonderful cohort below, and a picture of me analyzing the cells I experimented with last week!