Through the processsing from finding a topic of interest to narrowing down my research question, my research on planaria and utilzing in new substance to test for its regenerative capabilites has furthered my knowledge in stem cell regenerative medicine and science compared to before. Additionally, while I have utilized planaria as a model organism in the past, this project has expanded my knowledge in how to manage a planaria and going into in-depth analysis of its purpose in stem cell research. While I was unfortunately unable to get concrete evidence on whether or not ectoine could be a potential method for regenerative medicine in all types of stem cells, I hope to expand on the limited known range of ectoine's potential in regenerative medicine, and possible utilize ecotine on actual specialized stem cells in the near future for research.  

Within the data collection and experimental process, I was able to obtain skills that were neccassary and useful throughout my research project. For instance, throughout my research, I had to learn the skills of knowing when pivot and be flexible with new changes to my project, as there were always unexpected delays that had occured, specifically during my data collection process. These skills had not only been applied during my research process, but also during my final presentation where I had to learn to be confident in my own research and data collected even though there were multiple steps that went wrong during the actual data collection process. 

Throughout the entirety of this research process, there were many things there many things that I had learned about not only how to conduct research but also I learned a lot about how I work under different types of pressures during research. For instance, with unexpected delays, I initially did not know how to handle these unexpected changes to my research project, however, as I continued to problem solve my way throuhg these challenges, I was able to obtain and further my skills in knowing when to pivot. I also learned how to become more confident in not only my research but also in my public speaking skills. This entire process has challenged me in ways that I would have never expected to be challenged in, which made the experience difficult but worth it despite the hardships!