My Internship

The Clinklab does work in finding genetic links between changes in bone thickness and health and chronic kidney disease. The main objective of the lab is to locate the link and describe it beyond a simple correlation. The site currently offers two projects, both of which use extensive laboratory techniques and numerous different approaches. My main goal in the first semester will be to locate potential experimental procedures that may be helpful to the research ongoing and to provide scientific literature which could catalyze progress in the lab. I will also be participating in lab work.

I chose this internship because I knew that I wanted a site where I could both become familiar with the process of publishing scientific literature and learn a great deal with regard to literal laboratory practices. This site coupled these two goals together and I knew that the fact that the genetic component of Dr. Clinkebeard's research would help me with my primary goal of being a geneticist was extremely valuable to me as an aspiring medical student.

I know for a fact that I will gain significant confidence in my field and become much more capable as both a lab technician and a research assistant. From what I have gathered, this site seeks to put together the best elements from genetic research into a package that can be easily delivered to students, and I am quite excited to be working in this lab.

Site Visit and Fall Discussion: In the site visit, I was able to flesh out some of the more administrative aspects of the internship, primarily winter scheduling and the calendar for the spring semester. With everything that is happening in the lab at the moment, it was vital that my supervisor and I synthesize a plan to continue work throughout the winter session, as the project in the Spring would take considerable planning. Working inside the lab has been a great experience and during the site visit, we discussed some aspects of it including my primary work at the time which was completing RNA extractions for an ongoing experiment that Dr. Clinkenbeard had been completing. Working alongside the main laboratory technician, I was able to learn relatively quickly the main protocols, and this made it much easier to integrate myself into the laboratory setting. The final project in the Spring will most likely draw heavily from the techniques I have learned in the lab so far, and it is great to have a strong resource in both Dr. Clinkenbeard and her lab tech moving forward. As a professional in a laboratory setting, many timers you have to be able to deal with a wide variety of people and coordinate things smoothly. I see often that Dr. Clinkenbeard is very cool and collected when dealing with difficult situations, and she has significant patience which I admire. Moving forward with a project as expansive as her current one requires wisdom and experience, both of which I am actively attempting to acquire. Since my career pathway has a significant chance of landing me in a leading position on various research efforts, I think that gaining these skills that she has seemed to master is paramount to my success.

Fall Reflections: After this semester, I have found many things that I need to improve, maintain, and take further for the upcoming semester. I truly do believe that this experience has stretched me in ways that my traditional classes couldn't, and I am thankful for the time and effort that my supervisor has put forward to work with em throughout these last couple of months. Together we have continued through many difficult situations from injuries, to quarantines, and everything in-between and still we have made significant progress. This internship has taught me that responsibility above all is necessary in science. My main effort during this semester has been to cultivate my inner sense of responsibility and use it to my advantage both in my research and regular life. This internship is unlike a traditional job, in that you aren't paid to simply "do your job". The pay that you receive is completely adjacent to the actual experience at hand. When I started this internship I thought it would be like the other jobs I had had in the past, but this simply was the case. Every hour I spent during the week was valuable and every experience I had in-lab taught me a unique skill. I wasn't being paid to simply go and complete the protocol, but to learn the fundamentals behind it, and to move forward with the skills my supervisor was cultivating in me. I underestimated the time commitment and the value of this experience, and that is a mistake I will not make again. This internship has been critical in developing my understanding of actual industry research. It has been unlike my lab classes, unlike my lectures, and unlike any professional experience to date. I am extremely glad that I decided to join LHSI and I am excited for what the spring semester will entail.

This internship has been much more than I could have expected to be honest. It has been such an amazing experience that I really am a little in awe at how I was ever scared to join such a program in the first place. Throughout my time in LHSI I have been pushed far past where I thought I would in the Biology discipline, and I have been exposed to so many new ideas and techniques that I doubt I ever would have learned in the basic school curriculum. If there is anything I am surprised by day-to-day, it is the enthusiasm and optimism of the people I work with, and the love that I have cultured for research. This is an experience that will be critical for me in my career, and I am supremely grateful to have had such a wonderful opportunity!

Spring Reflections: After having been in the program for a little over a semester, I have found that my career choices have definitely changed. I thought that I wanted to be a medical doctor because that was the most difficult thing I could think of to do. I have since realized, that my career path would best be suited for a PhD in Biology. I love being in the lab and doing experiments, and most of all, I enjoy the process of brainstorming, asking questions, and following evidence. This internship site has opened my eyes to the world of research, and to be honest, I couldn't see myself doing anything else with my education. I look forward to going to work for once, and I feel like I am always learning something new and exciting! I will be working in the lab over the summer so maybe that will change some of my feelings towards it, but at the moment I feel completely satisfied and engaged! My classes have gotten easier in Biology since joining LHSI, and I feel like I am ready for any biology curriculum now. I feel integrated into the biology community, and that has made a world of difference with regard to my confidence in lab and lecture.