Hi everyone! I am part of the Health Sciences Research Fellowship this summer. Many of us in the fellowship are Biology majors or Neuroscience majors, planning on attending medical school and/or getting a PhD. Even though our experiences and future goals may seem similar to those outside the health sciences field, our research still varies widely. Even in this more narrowly focused fellowship, our research ranges from clinical research, wet bench research, and dry bench research. It is surprising how different our research is! Just in our first few meetings, I have gained a new appreciation for the diversity of techniques our cohort is using. For example, many of us conduct cell culture, but we are using a variety of different cells with different properties. We also use a variety of models to conduct our research ranging from in vivo to in vitro techniques. 

From other HSRF recipients this summer, I want to learn more about how lab techniques and experimental setups vary across the health sciences. I would love to get a better understanding of how different labs work and how they conduct their research.  Throughout the summer, I would love to get advice on how to further my research, and maybe even learn about some new techniques that I will incorporate into my project. I plan to be entering an MD/Ph.D. program with a very open view of my future specialty and PhD research project. My future research may even be focused on a new discipline that I learn about from my cohort!

One of the members of my cohort, Michelle, is conducting research of particular interest to me. Despite the obvious differences between psychiatry and ophthalmology, we discovered our research aims are very similar. However, the methods used to achieve our results vary significantly. I conduct cell culture and complete subsequent analyses, but Michelle uses a computer program called Neurolucida. I am excited to further compare the similarities and differences between our research during the summer. There are many benefits to participating in the Health Sciences Research Fellowship, but there will also be some obstacles that will eventually lead to our growth. Spending the summer with other Health Sciences researchers will enrich my understanding of my own research, and of scientific research in general. Since most of us in the HSRF are part of different departments, it may be challenging sometimes to explain our work to each other in a specific manner. However, I am sure that by the end of the summer, we will all become very familiar with each other’s work.