Julia! I'm scared! I'm a freshman in college and I just applied to a few laboratories within my school and I'm more nervous now than when I applied to college. I've never done research before and, while I don't expect much, I'm scared that /if/ I get into a lab, I won't like it or that I'll be in over my head. Can you talk about your research experience(undergraduate or otherwise) and the best ways to make the most of it? <3
Firstly, Iâm super excited and proud of you for inquiring about research experience in a lab. And Iâm so so so happy youâre starting your freshman year. I know you may feel super scared, but as someone whoâs mentored undergrads for almost 6 years now let me tell you that I love! freshmen! You have unique strengths such as a budding passion, curiosity to learn, and most importantly to a busy researcher in a busy lab, the potential to stick around for 4+ full years, bringing in productivity and stability. Totally win win for everyone around!
And itâs totally okay if you donât know anything about lab work, or the topic of the research, or even how to hold a pipette. Those are easy things we can teach you and that you will learn bit by bit. But whatâs really rare is to find someone whoâs passionate about research, and learning, and never giving up. And the fact that youâre applying to these research positions in your freshman year shows just that! So honestly if your application landed in my email iâd snap you up in a heartbeat.Â
Oh, and when you start in a lab theyâre not going to just throw you to the wolves and say âok hereâs a research question go answer itâ. Youâll team up with a mentor (a research tech or grad student) and work very closely with them. You will be guided every step of the way until you slowly become proficient in certain techniques, then protocols, then eventually, when you feel comfortable enough (and if you have the time for one), your own independent mini project.Â
And if you find out you donât like research, thatâs okay! There are many things that Iâve done in the past that i thought was for me (like pre-med and pre-pharm for example), but it ended up not fitting right. And that was honestly a fantastic realization. otherwise i may be stuck working a job i hate, right? so donât be afraid to want to make the changes that feel right to you. if you still love research, but find that the personality of the lab youâre in isnât feeling right, itâs okay to move out. you can ask the professor if they have any recommendations for other labs that would fit your personality, and iâm sure theyâll be happy to suggest some. every lab has its own culture, so it may take you a while to find one that fits you! like when i was rotating through labs during the beginning of grad school, 2 of the 3 labs i went through just didnât feel ârightâ. and that was totally ok.Â
Anyway, I totally realize this wasnât at all what you were asking, but I really wanted to let you know that what youâre doing is amazing <3
My own research experience:
I was kind of a âlate-bloomerâ when it came to laboratory research; I really wasnât sure what trajectory I wanted to go, so I only considered scientific research my senior year of college. Thus I only had one semesterâs worth of research experience in my favorite professorâs lab studying the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and alternative antibacterial therapeutics. I worked closely with the lab tech and did a bunch of easy genetic work (like cloning, PCR, DNA blots, the sorts). I definitely donât think I actually contributed a whole bunch; I was only there 10-12 hours/week so it was mainly for me to get some experience. Working there also got me interested in antibiotic resistance, and whether alternative plant-derived antibacterial treatments were of any use, so I did some research and actually wrote my undergraduate Honors College thesis on the topic. My only regret? Not starting the research earlier. But, as I said, I didnât really have a clear career path for a lot of college so :\
After graduating, I had the most fortunate lucky good graces to land a research technician job in a lab at my alma mater. The PI had just moved from Harvard, and was looking for someone to get her situated (and then manage the lab). Why the heck she saw my one semester of research experience and thought ah-ha! is beyond me, but I think she made a good decision. I absolutely excelled at managing the lab while still getting my research done (probably because the dynamic of the lab was right up my personality alley; everyone in the lab became good friends). I lead the optimization of two immunoassays for the detection and validation of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of cancers and infectious diseases. While there, I also took some grad level courses and thought hey, this ainât so bad. So three years after working there, I went off to grad school. My experience in this lab gave me 3 papers, a whole bunch of connections, my chance at grad school, and my boyfriend (lol). (And from what I hear now, the lab organization has never been as great as when I was there. Hehheh)
As for tips on how to get the most out of your undergraduate research experience:
Ask questions! Always always ask questions. You wonât be annoying anyone. In fact, if you donât ask questions, and pretend you know something, but then we find out you actually have no idea whatâs going on.. then thatâs going to get one someoneâs nerves. Ask questions, and if someone doesnât know the answer, turn to other resources like google. And you can also ask questions outside of the research too; ask your mentor about advice for a science or health career (ex. grad school, med school, etc). Take advantage of our experience and what we can do for you.Â
Jot down notes. When someoneâs showing you a protocol for the first time, have a notebook ready to take notes. Itâs fine if you have questions later and need us to explain something again, but if it was something that couldâve easily been written down earlier, then itâs just a waste of time (for you and your mentor).Â
That being said, have a designated notebook to take notes in. Not your official lab notebookâthat belongs to the lab and you canât take home; but have something for lab meeting notes, cheatsheets for abbreviations, sample formula calculations, etc. I definitely used my notebook from undergrad research at my post-college research tech job.Â
Check out where everything is. A great way to do this is to volunteer to catalog reagents or supplies (itâs a tedious task, but it needs to be done every few years for audits. also if you volunteer to do this, youâre going to earn like 100000x brownie points from the entire lab). If your lab has shared folders for protocols, data, etc, take some time to poke around to familiarize yourself.Â
Read about the research. Find out what the major knowledge gap in the field is (or what the current âhot topicâ is), and then try to read a few of the labâs papers. Itâs ok if you donât understand everything in them at first; just keep coming back and youâll be amazed at how much youâll learn in the first few months! Reputable internet sources are also great ways to get started (I like YouTube videos of research techniques/concepts).
Engage in lab activities. We want to be friends with you, or at least form that networking connection. So come to our events, sit down with us at lunch. Research is very much a team-oriented job, so letâs get to know each other. At the very least, try to attend all the lab meetings, journal clubs, and any seminars that a lab member is presenting at (theyâll be very informative, and itâs always nice to show your support).Â
Find as many ways to get your name and research out to the world. This includes contributing to manuscripts and presenting your work in lab meetings, poster sessions, maybe even conferences that accept undergrads (your mentor will have more info). Iâll have to say probably a third of research is about presenting our data, so scientific writing and public speaking are necessary skills to become proficient at. And if you can have a paper or conference poster abstract published that has your name in it -> big bonus points on your CV!
Meet with the PI (principal investigator aka the professor who owns/runs the lab) regularly. To discuss data, your progress, ideas, any forms they need to sign, such and such. Theyâll definitely want to know what youâre up to, whether youâre enjoying your time, and if they can point your project in the right direction, etc. Youâll want to establish a good relationship with them as theyâll be your contact for years for things like letters of rec, career openings (they may know someone who knows someone), or just advice.Â
Itâs ok to make mistakes. Everyone has broken something in lab, everyone has spilled a reagent, everyone has messed up a 5-day experiment at the very last step. Itâs good to try your best to be diligent of course, but making a mistake is the best way to learn sometimes. I let my undergrads make mistakes all the time (as long as theyâre not endangering themselves or others or messing with something super expensive). And I tell them itâs ok, we all do it, and then they never make that same mistake again. So if you mess something up, donât beat yourself over it. Apologize, offer to do whatâs necessary to fix it, and then learn from it.Â
Plan your class schedule so you have at least a 2 hour block every day (or every other day at the minimum) for lab work. Many protocols days hours to complete, and in a continuous daily manner, so even though your mentor wonât expect you to be there a full 8 hours a day (they know youâre a student first, after all), itâll be beneficial for all parties for you to have chunks of continuous time, rather than half an hour here and there. This is very much lab/project specific though, so ask your mentor about what kind of class schedule would work better.Â
Also, try to get as much done during the summer as possible. Summer is the time of great productivity in labs. You could even get paid for your time if thatâs an option!
Take time off as needed. If you need to study for an exam, do so. If you need a week off during some holiday to be with family, go. You are a student first and foremost, and a student with a life outside of lab. Decent mentors will understand and respect that. I tell my undergrads that I donât even want to see them in the lab during Midterms and Finals. Go study! What youâre doing here in the lab comes secondary to the education you are paying tons of money for!Â
Have fun! Working in the lab should be enjoyable! Yes, sometimes itâs hard and frustrating, but I hope at the end of the day you feel satisfied doing something you enjoy. If not, again, itâs ok to change trajectory. Always remember that this is your education, your career, your life.
And remember: whatâs difficult today will become your skill tomorrow. Learning takes time! Everything has a learning curve, and we all started at the bottom. You will get better at doing or understanding something if you keep working at it. Just take everything one determined step at a time and youâll be just fine :)
Well, thatâs all my brain can think of for now! I hope that helped, and guided you to feel a little less nervous about the whole ordeal. And let me know how it all goes! I would love to hear about what kind of research youâre doing.Â
If you ever have any other questions, please donât hesitate to hit me up. After all, as I said in that first bullet point of advice, ask questions! :)
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