Hi everyone, Chloe here again with a reflection of my project this summer. Working on this Brackenridge project has been such a valuable experience. I know that I would definitely like to pursue a career in research, likely in developmental biology. My passion for research has fueled my commitment to my project; my curiosity has allowed me to stay so engaged everyday in lab and outside of it.
As a reminder, my project is an investigation of the mechanics during neurulation in the neural plate. I’m using mechanical forces and biophysics to examine how neural tissue behaves under force, and if mechanical force alone is enough to induce neural cell rearrangement. Over the course of the summer, many experiments proved to be rather challenging to pull of. I spent many late nights in lab finishing out experiments, determined to gather effective amounts of data to properly analyze. There have been many instances where I needed to work with my mentor to problem solve issues we were having with our experiments, trying to figure out how to get things working properly. This problem-solving, and independence in my project has really grown my confidence as a researcher.
Starting off this summer, I was intimidated by the sheer amount of information and knowledge in my specific field of cell mechanics and biophysics in developmental biology. There are so many facets of information to know and be aware of in order to successfully problem-solve and organize your experiments. It’s like diving into a completely different world- new jargon, concepts, phenomena, and arguments about how those or by what mechanisms those phenomena occur. I know a lot about my project and its concepts, but there are so many small bits of information necessary to really fully manipulate your experimental design, or analyze your results from the best perspective. Each of those small bits of information are just the tip of a huge iceberg of deeper knowledge. And even though I’m still learning, the amount that I unearthed each of those icebergs has proven to be rather significant this summer. I’ve so thoroughly enjoyed my time diving into the literature, answering questions through my own experiments, learning from my mentor, and all of the wonderful graduate students and post docs in my lab.
Early in the summer, I applied to present a poster at a conference for the Society for Developmental Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Last week, I found out I was accepted! At the end of August, I will present my project, and have a good amount of data and results to talk about. I’m working hard until then to make sure I can have as much information as possible. I feel confident about my project, and about how I could take this further and answer more of my questions; which is why I’m applying to complete a BPhil.
I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity this summer as a Brackenridge scholar to pursue my interests and passion for research. Newly confident as a young scientist and researcher, I will continue to use all of the research and communication skills I’ve learned throughout the rest of my career.
