On Experience

" You cannot create experience. You must undergo it. "
Albert Camus

I can say so many things about my summer internship. More than that which has already been said here and here. But today, I'll leave you with just a few words regarding the experience and knowledge gained from my internship at the Breast Cancer Research Lab at FCCC...

(1) A lot of hard work goes into being a PI and running a lab.
(i.e. grant writing, research planning and implementing, and keeping your sanity through all of it)

(2) Equal amounts of effort goes into being research associates. 
(i.e working late evenings, long weekends sans pay, and meeting the demands of your PI)

(3) Research is not limited to performing experiments and hoping to get results. 
Most of the time is spent collecting data; be it counting tiny cells on an invasion membrane or counting endless mammary gland structures on a 9X7 grid on a computer screen. Someone has to do it. 


(4) Being a part of a team that is as dedicated to research and science as much as you are is very motivating.

(5) Interning with world renowned breast cancer researchers who take the time to extend their knowledge to up and coming scientists is extremely rewarding. 
I was able to not only learn from the PI, co-PI, and senior researchers, but my fellow interns as well.

Oh, and btw: Apparently I should stick to my day job because I majorly failed at cutting our celebratory cake on Friday.

Rat dissections: Pass

Cake cutting: #fail 

ツ

On Mentoring

As mentioned in my post written about a month ago, I was to transition from mentee to mentor at my summer internship. I have never assumed this role before and was extremely nervous the first day, July 5, 2011.
I was to mentor 4 high school students: one was my mentor's daughter and the other three were from Long Island, NY sponsored by their respective Breast Cancer organizations. I had their schedule for the month, the BCRL's lab manual, seating charts/assignments, and their summer objectives and tasks all prepared from them in cute little folders. I was ready to start my mentoring, or so I thought. I was nervous from the time I parked in the garage that day, walked through the hospital to the lab, and to my seating area. A few setbacks changed the schedule around and I met with the students 2 hours prior to our scheduled meeting time. Anyhoo, we made it through the first day and every day became easier after that. (Especially on day two when one of the mentees told me that I should not have been nervous on the first day because I did very well).

July was a great learning period for all of us. Their young minds (15 and 16 year olds) gained so much knowledge within the first day and just about every day for the remainder of the month. They asked questions whenever they were curious, and they were overall great kids.

They each also had their own unique personalities, which brought some spunk and energy to our lab. Whether they were cracking jokes, wheeling through the length of the lab in their chairs (which really wasn't allowed), or giving us researchers a hand in some of our experiments, they were all welcomed with open arms. Yes, even the "annoying kid". (You know there's always ONE).

One of our most memorable quotes was while we were teaching the students how to dissect the rat mammary gland. I mentioned that sometimes, it is really hard to see the mammary gland on a skin pelt and to get a better idea of the location, they should try to locate the nipple on the outer skin and match it to the inner region. One of my mentees (we'll call him H) was recording their experience during this time (to create a documentary), when of the other mentees (we'll call him Y) asked me to show them the nipple. H got all embarrassed and asked that Y not say the word "nipple" while he's recording because it was not "professional". As clever as Y is, he responded:

"Okay.... Jhan, can you show me the beep?"

The lab erupted in laughter!

It seems as if I have gotten a little sidetracked in story telling, so I guess I will wrap this one up. Overall, it was such a great experience. I always admire young people who hunger and seek after knowledge. They remind me of myself at that age and makes me wish I had been involved in something so wonderful.

Friday (July 29th) was their last day. They prepared a 30 minute presentation of their research results and all their parents and friends came to see. I'll surely miss them. They were not only a joy to have in the lab, but they taught me that I can be released from my shell of shyness to be of help to others, and to impart on them the knowledge that I have received from those who were generous enough accept me into their lab and impart their knowledge to me.

Internship Thus Far

There is much to learn and experience during a summer internship contrary to what I believed before I started. I thought, ‘how much could I possibly do in 15 short weeks?’ I now know.

In the six weeks that I have been at FCCC, volunteering as a full time research assistant, I have learned so much! I have learned: that I still have a problem with tardiness; how to deal with language barriers (somewhat); animal sacrificing and dissections really don’t faze me much (only when I have someone over me telling me how to hold a scalpel); and many other things regarding the mammary gland—including its development, morphology, architecture,  similarities between the human and rat’s mammary glands, and how to dissect it whole. I am also learning a bit of histology, which I am sure will be beneficial for my Histology class in the fall. This has truly been a learning experience for me. I guess it was worth the two years of being offered the opportunity (I’ve been applying to work as a volunteer in this Breast Cancer Research Lab since 2009). 

Outside of my experiences in the lab, I have also been able to interact with some other people at the hospital. I met one really nice nurse one day I ate lunch alone. She told me that the Center was “a great place to work” because there are so many good things going on there. She reminded me that there were “sad things” too, but mostly good. I have been able to observe some of these sad things, myself… patients walking around the hospital in their gowns. Others may even pace around the beautiful garden outside in their gowns with family members by their sides. Some choose to have their chemotherapy treatment on an outside bench on a sunny day. These are the things that made me sad.  There was another day that I was unable to find the group of volunteers I normally have lunch with, so I sat at a table with two women. One got a business call, so she was on the phone most of the time that I sat there to eat my sandwich. The other asked me what my role was at the hospital. I didn’t want to pry by asking her why she was there, but I saw the hospital bracelet and was tempted to ask if she was a patient there. Her response was in a bright tone. “As of today, I am”, she said. “I’m waiting for them to page me so I can begin chemo”. As those last words came out, I saw her eyes become glossy with tears. She did not cry, but I am sure the reality of it all stung deeply. I honestly did not know how to respond, and I kind of wish I did not ask, but I also felt that there was a reason why I was pushed to ask. Either way, we did not have much to say to each other, and I had to get back to work, so that was the end of our conversation. (I know, ‘what a way to end a convo?!’, right?!)

Anyhoo, overall, this has been a really good experience for me. Not only do I gain some laboratory experience, but I will be getting paid starting July 1^st. Yes. My full-time volunteership has transitioned to a full time paid internship! Also, beginning July 5^th, I will be the mentor of four high school students coming to the lab for the month of July. We also have a huge project beginning that day, that will last until November, but I will only be able to help in the first half (processing 300 samples) of it. 

This is such a wonderful opportunity. I get to work with great people and a well-known breast cancer researcher (and his wife) who has over 300 publications!! Life is good. All glory and honor goes to God for all of this. ツ

The members of the BCRL, minus my 2nd mentor and one of the Research techs -- yea, we're not all in our fancy lab coats. 

P.S. I also love the diversity of our lab, in regards to ethnicity and areas of expertise/skills. We have a Colombian, Argentinians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, etc. Funny story: A new girl started as a temporary hire about 2 weeks ago via one of the guys (on the far left in pic) that work in the lab. She is blonde hair, blue-eyed like the guy on the far left in the pic, and she was also that guy's lab partner in undergrad. At lunch one day she asked "Are you Jamaican?" I told her I was and questioned why she asked out of the blue. Turns out, Tom, the guy she went to undergrad with, told her that he was the only American in the lab. When she heard me speak, she thought to herself "Well, she doesn't sound Jamaican. And then when she saw another of the volunteers, (on the left in pic), she also thought "Well, clearly she is American too". I laughed SO hard!

False Start

 

{Source}

Monday, May 16, was supposed to be the first day of my internship. It is now the end of what was supposed to be ‘Day 3’ and I still have not donned my white lab jacket in the breast cancer research lab… Neither have I been in the lab for more than 5 minutes... (ok, lies... 15 minutes.. 20 minutes tops!)

Monday started out as an exciting day for me. I packed a small lunch, my lab jacket, some water and sped drove to the nearest CVS to purchase a bound black and white marble notebook, just in case. I got to the Center (I will be referring to my internship location as such from here on out) just in time… 9am. I went to the Volunteer Office because that is where I was told to report to as soon as I got there. Lo and behold, I was thoroughly shocked and amazed at all the things I needed to have done in order to begin working in the lab. They needed to have a copy of my immunization records. I had to have a PPD (Mantoux) test done to test for tuberculosis.  I had to complete a health care compliance course online. I also had to endure 3 boring hours of orientation, and wait an additional 1 hour+ for my mentors to retrieve me from the surgical waiting room, just outside of the volunteer office.

According to one of the volunteer coordinators, the researchers are “not good with processes”.  She said they’re good with their own work and research and such, but when it comes to preparing their volunteer researchers, they suck at it. Lovely. They clearly did not inform me of all these necessary steps.

So, I was finally able to meet with my two mentors, and the head researcher as they discussed my plans for the summer. We followed that with a tour of the Breast Cancer Research Lab (BCRL), and general information about working there. I got a copy of the BRCL Lab Manual and was told to know it “from A to Z”. One mentor said that with such a straight face, I thought she was serious, which she was… but to an extent. After an overview of the lab and what was expected of me, I was told that I had the option of staying there to start on some of the literature research I have to do. --Remember, two 10-page papers, etc., etc. ? – or coming in the next day and starting fresh. (It was about 2:45pm at that time). I reminded them that I could not start working in the lab until my immunization information was received. Sadly, the Center did not receive those records until LATE this afternoon (thanks, QU… *sigh*). My new start date is now Monday, May 23. 

I’m not at all complaining, however. I am finally getting that break that I would not have had otherwise (driving home from school on Saturday and starting my full-time, 40 hours/week internship two days later). I’ll surely cherish this mini break. 

… And if you haven’t noticed by now, the above image has nothing to do with this post. I just thought it was a cool photo.

Closer

 

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One week from now, I will begin my volunteer internship at a cancer research facility in Philly. As you may remember from this post, I have contacted a 'whole heap' of research labs in February and March looking for someone to sponsor me for an internship. I wanted the experience more than anything. It is one thing to acquire many college degrees, but it's another to have enough experience to get a job done when/if you are hired. I learned this while applying for laboratory jobs this past school year. Many companies were more interested in hiring someone with a high school diploma and about 6+ years of experience than someone with their BS or MS with no professional experience. I knew I had to do something about it.

I contacted various researchers personally, submitting my academic CV and asking if I could work in their research laboratory during the summer (even if it was just a volunteer position). I got the response from one facility asking me to come in for an interview during my spring break. I went in nervous as all ever, thinking that they might ask me to relay something like the molecular pathway involved in apoptosis.  I met with the the head of the breast cancer research lab, and I honestly believe that he had already made his decision before I got there. He asked why I was interested in cancer research. I explained to him my experience with cancer in one of my family members and all that I have learned about cancer in my classes, news reports, articles, etc. I was really emotional answering his question, but he handed me tissues and said it's okay because it "shows [my] passion for the subject". Without further hesitation, he welcomed me as a full-time volunteer researcher and told me about the team members I would be working with and asked that I had two recommendations sent to him. It all happened so fast that I doubted being accepted. I thought, 'well, maybe he was just giving me an idea of what it would be like to work there, if I were to be accepted'. The following week, I received an email from him listing all of my responsibilities for the summer. Needless to say, I was thoroughly surprised and pretty ecstatic!

 

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So, I begin my internship next week. And with this, I feel as though I am one step closer to my dream of working at a cancer research facility. This summer will be challenging. I will be volunteering full time, with only holidays (Memorial Day and Independence Day) and weekends off. I have two 10-page, single-spaced papers to write, a weekly debriefing meeting with the lab, and a final 20-minute presentation at the end of the summer to discuss what I have accomplished and learned. This will be challenging indeed, but it's what i want.

ツ

Plans for the Summer!

That's me! ... and my neurobio professor in lab last year (2010). (Source)

I am pretty darn excited for this summer!

{No! Not for the disgustingly humid city weather...}

I am excited because I have been on my grind lately, trying to find a research or laboratory internship and it's all coming together!

My interest in a career in the research and development field (R&D) sparked at the latter end of my sophomore year in college. I realized that med school was not what I wanted after all. I liked working in the lab more than anything and I actually looked forward to going to lab every week. Whether it was dissecting rabbit muscles, trying to develop a vaccine against Staph aureus, or harvesting neurons from fetal rats, I loved every bit of it.

Now, for this summer, I have chosen to directly contact a few researchers to petition a summer internship in their lab. Preferably, I would like to have a paid internship. However, I desire to gain experience more than anything, so I have also petitioned for volunteer positions (with hopes of finding a little part-time gig to save up for my second year of grad school). I strongly believe that any position will help me to refine the skills I've gained during my undergraduate career and teach me new ones. With Philly as my 'permanent home', I have a wide variety of research organizations (i.e. GSK, FCCC, Wistar Institute, etc.) and universities (i.e. Drexel, Temple, UPenn, PCOM etc) in range that I can work with.

I have my first interview next week! ツ

Photo sharing: Drew U surely brought out the science lover in me! Enjoy these pics...

Ferns grown from tiny spores (freshman year).

Dissecting bunnies (sophomore year).

DNA fragmented by agarose gel electrophoresis (junior year).

DAPI-stained DNA microtubules during interphase (junior year).

Anatomy & Physiology lab (junior year).

The effects of glutamate cytotoxicity on neurons (senior year).

Trip to the Bronx Zoo (sophomore year).

**All photos are my own**