This past summer I worked on a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) through the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research with my mentor, Dr. Sarah Walker. I worked Monday through Friday beginning at 9:00 in the morning, in Rudman, which is a building on campus. The first thing I did when I got into the lab was write down what I needed to get done that day and the procedures. Writing these things down was helpful so that I had the information I needed available to me throughout the day.
I am studying drug treatments and their outcomes for ovarian cancer. In order to do this, I grow ovarian cancer cells that need to be split every few days so that too many don't grow. One cell that I grow is able to create a new one every 24 hours, and in order to keep them from overgrowing the media I keep them in, I need to split them so there are less cells. On Mondays and Fridays I would split my cells and set up any experiments I needed to get done with those cells. I usually set up two to three experiments a week. These experiments consisted of adding drugs to the cells to see if they kill the cells; isolating RNA and protein with which I made cDNA and subsequently ran qPCRs; and plating clearance assays. qPCR, or real-time polymerase chain reaction, is a quantitative technique that tests for what genes are active in the cells I am using. Clearance assays test the ability for cancer cells to invade healthy cell tissue. I usually took a break around 12-1 for lunch. As part of my SURF project, I also performed data analysis on my computer. I am able to do this from anywhere so during the summer I liked to sit outside to get this work done. The data I analyzed was from the drug treatments and qPCR data.
Some days I also met with my mentor to talk about how the experiments were going and new experiments I could be trying. There was another undergraduate student in the lab over the summer as well as several graduate students. It was nice to have other people in the lab because I could bounce ideas off them and ask questions if I ever needed help.
This summer I also pitched the idea of creating an Instagram account for the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research with Emily Pratt, another student at UNH. The idea was approved! I spend a little bit of time each day thinking of new ideas for the Instagram account, making posts, and reaching out to people to highlight. I’m excited about this project because I want other students to know about research, how to get involved, and to see just how feasible it is as an undergraduate.
Working on this SURF project over the summer has given me the perspective of what it's like to work in a lab full time. I have been able to learn from failed experiments and think of new experiments to test the drugs I am researching to see if they are working. It's also nice to work with others in the lab who have different levels of expertise, because it offers different perspectives to consider which contributes to my growth and experience. I am so grateful for this hands-on opportunity that UNH makes available to students because I have been able to learn new lab techniques and skills that will help when applying for jobs after I graduate. Lab work is an enriching experience because you learn critical thinking skills and how to change your approach when an experiment doesn't have the anticipated outcome you expected.
