At the beginning of this year, I started working at UC's satellite lab in Reading, OH. I actually started working in this lab on-and-off when I initially started research and so continued into this year. I ended up finishing the project I was working on for Aynara Wulsin last year, and was somewhat a floater. I helped around in the lab wherever possible. I worked at the lab twice a week from the beginning of August to the ending of April. I still a majority of the data analysis for another project during my time here and was assigned a different researcher, Rachel Marano. However, my data analysis, this time around, consisted of counting cells rather than lengths of dendrites.
The Project
The project that I was assigned onto a little later dealt with the same ideas as my project last year. This project dealt with how chronic stress can affect adolescents female and male rats. After my researcher ran the experiment, I was responsible for counting different types of cells within the neurons. For example, my researcher was trying to figure out if there was an overlap in cells.
My Learning
I hope to start working on projects that are more hands-on and allow me to do more of the experiment rather than just analyzing data. I have had the opportunity to learn and expand upon my research skills this year and I am excited to see what the next two years have in store for me!
The Project
The project that I was assigned onto a little later dealt with the same ideas as my project last year. This project dealt with how chronic stress can affect adolescents female and male rats. After my researcher ran the experiment, I was responsible for counting different types of cells within the neurons. For example, my researcher was trying to figure out if there was an overlap in cells.
My Learning
- Persistence. My researcher allowed me to count the cells and after analyzing the counts, there were many times when there was no significance in the data. Initially, this was disappointing to me because I worked hard on looking through the images and I felt defeated. However, I knew that even though there was no data, i had to keep going and maybe approach the situation in a different manner. Instead of comparing the two specific cells, look at a comparison of two other cells. Just getting the idea to re-plan and no give up on an experiment solely because of insignificant data. I learned that even though the data is insignificant, there can still be a lot that is understood from the project.
- Patience. Going into this year, I knew good well that I wanted to do more with my time in the lab than just do data analysis. I did not mind doing data analysis but I also knew that if I really wanted to contribute my time and energy to the lab, I had to do more. My way of doing more was to get animal training, which would allow me to have more hands-on opportunities. As I did data analysis for most of the time, I was also able to help with much of the animal work that other researchers were doing. I used this time to prove myself and get a summer project that was more hands-on.
- Open-Minded. I was required to attend lab meetings every Monday alongside journal club, where every other Monday, a researcher would pick a journal that they are basing their research off of or something that they find interesting and share it with the rest of the lab. Through these meetings, I was able to get a better grasp of what everyone was doing in lab and learned about different areas of research. I learned to keep an open-mind and take every opportunity to learn and ask questions.
I hope to start working on projects that are more hands-on and allow me to do more of the experiment rather than just analyzing data. I have had the opportunity to learn and expand upon my research skills this year and I am excited to see what the next two years have in store for me!