Over the summer, I have had a real chance to experience research. As opposed to my time in the Hammond Lab during the school year, I had a chance to get into the advanced methods of my field-doing techniques like CRISPR, creating and ordering novel plasmids, and taking more of an active role in my project. I learned that research is much more nuanced than I could have ever imagined, and that there are usually far more setbacks than successes. By getting a better understanding of the underlying cell dynamics in the phosphatidylinositol cycle, I feel like I have improved both as a scientist and a researcher. My view of research has also changed. Before, I thought of doing research as just chugging along in a lab, doing experiments until you have the data you need. Now I know that this is just not true. Research is primarily about asking questions that have not been asked before. These questions are constantly changing based on new information, either from experiments you do or from papers published by other labs. It is your job as a scientist to use all the information at your disposal to formulate a question to guide your research.

I thought the HSRF experience was particularly valuable due to the amount of time I was able to spend in the lab. During the school year, I balanced working in the Hammond Lab with 18 credits of classwork as well as other extracurriculars, which prevented me from truly understanding the daily workings of the lab as I just was not able to be there enough. Being in the lab 30–40 hours a week allows you as a student to understand what working full time in research is like: with all the tasks that have to be completed, time management with the other members in your lab, and how to effectively communicate your results as well as problems you need help solving. This is not something that can be learned without experience; I think this skill will be extremely useful throughout my future career.

As the HSRF wraps up, I plan to continue my investigation into DGKs during the following semesters. Although I will be busy with classes, I am excited to get back into the lab during the fall and progress with my project. As for my future career, I definitely want to continue to engage in some form of research. No matter what I end up doing—whether it be going to medical school, getting a Ph.D., or doing both with an MD/Ph.D.—I aim to continue to investigate the unknowns of the human body and its systems.