As the CURF fellowship comes to an end, I have been reflecting on my research this semester and how the experimental protocol of my project has changed with time.
My project has focused on characterizing neural innervation of the pancreas, specifically determining which postganglionic sympathetic nerves stimulate the pancreas. Characterizing the neurons that innervate the pancreas would inform future studies of the neural pathways that could be targeted with therapies to increase lymph node draining and slow the progression of acute pancreatitis.
This project has involved learning and mastering antibody staining and microscopic imaging techniques to analyze tissue samples and count observed nerve cells. It took time for me to become more consistent with these experiments and obtain consistent results. Moreover, the tissue cutting and staining process took three days, which increased the turnaround time to receive experimental results. As a result, it took several weeks to optimize the experiment and add steps to improve the consistency and accuracy of our experiments. While I felt frustrated at times during this process, I received support from other members of my lab who gave me constructive feedback on my experiments and walked me through steps I was struggling with. Moreover, discussing my work and results at lab meetings helped me receive feedback on my protocol from other scientists.
This fellowship has also shown me the importance of setting regular and reasonable goals for my research. I have learned to better plan my lab schedule around my experiments and communicate regularly with my PI to make changes to experiments as needed. This has also encouraged me to document my results for each round of experiments and helped me stay organized for my research presentation this semester.
I was able to present my preliminary results at the Frederick Honors College Research Symposium and enjoyed the opportunity to discuss my research with other student researchers and faculty. I plan to expand on this project with my Bachelor of Philosophy thesis and present my final findings at next year’s research symposium. I have enjoyed researching in a neuroimmunology lab in college, and I am grateful to have expanded my knowledge of wet lab research techniques. However, I am also interested in clinical research and working with patients. This summer, I will be conducting public health research on community health perspectives in Cochabamba, Bolivia, while studying abroad through the Pitt in Bolivia program. I am curious to learn about the similarities and differences across clinical and wet lab research. Moreover, I am excited to apply my scientific knowledge of molecular processes to understanding disease progression and symptoms in a clinical setting.
In medical school, I hope to explore clinical neuroscience research and continue research that focuses on pain pathology and disease progression. I aspire to become a physician-scientist and apply the techniques that I have started to master to my research in the future. I am very grateful for the opportunity to pursue a Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research fellowship to conduct my first, independent research project. I am excited to continue growing as a researcher and connecting with other student scientists in the Pitt community.
