Meeting and conversing with other HSRF recipients has broadened my perspective on research significantly. Research as a whole is an incredibly broad discipline, and although my peers are conducting research that is on the outside very similar, their methods are completely different. I hope to understand how to look at a project from different perspectives, as this would help immensely when my project hits a dead end and I need to look at it from a different perspective. Although I have focused on lipid research during my time here at Pitt, I am not exactly sure what my future holds. The vast scope of projects represented with the HSRF will help me find exactly what I want to be doing for my future career. An interdisciplinary community such as the HSRF really allows for a great deal of knowledge sharing, which helps spread new ideas on how to improve each other’s research.

Many of my peers’ projects involve a great deal of the same molecular techniques that I am using-such as CRISPR, transfections, and lots and lots of pipetting. On the surface, this makes my project seem very similar to those of my peers. However, most of my cohort are using animal models such as mice, and are manipulating the models to observe behaviors. I am using cells that only are able to respond physiologically. All of my peers are working on fascinating projects, but one that sticks out is my peer Richard’s project focusing on a novel pathway of cell death in cancer cells called ferroptosis. Although working on something so different to my project, we both use so many of the same techniques to understand what is going on in the cells.

Working with researchers across disciplines opens up a great deal of benefits with few drawbacks. An invaluable perspective is gained, which can help when your own project hits a roadblock. Looking at a project using a different set of guiding principles can help identify shortcomings and things that can be improved. Sometimes, this perspective can be harmful, especially if it causes you to focus too much on unimportant side details. Overall, a cross disciplinary group can allow us to identify and correct shortcomings in our research by allowing us to view our projects from a different perspective. Having the ability to be a part of the HSRF has really opened my eyes to how broad the discipline of research is and how much I can explore as a future career.