The CCSF Bioscience Internship Program pairs students with research mentors at scientific institutions and companies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Research mentors give students hands-on experience doing scientific research in an authentic laboratory environment. These internships are highly beneficial to both mentors and mentees. We’re incredibly proud of this program and, to show off its benefits, we’ve conducted interviews with alumnae.

Below you’ll find the story of CCSF student Nicolas (Nico) Delaeter and mentor Yanxin Liu PhD, a researcher in the Agard Lab at UCSF. From dreams of pipetting to confidence in a research career, this is a fantastic story of growth for both Nico and Yanxin. It highlights how non-traditional career paths can foster the curious mindset required to make a great researcher. 

Why did Yanxin and Nico participate in the CCSF Bioscience internship program?

In the very near future Yanxin would like to become an independent professor at an academic institution. The CCSF Bioscience internship program was part of his preparation for this major career step. When Yanxin becomes an independent professor, he’ll be mentoring many researchers. Thus taking on interns through the CCSF program was a great way to build his mentoring abilities. As a side benefit, he was excited to get a helping hand in the lab.

For his part, Nico never worked in biology before his enrollment in the CCSF Biotechnology Program. Nico previously taught French and worked as a mover and grocer. Yet, Nico has always been a curious person. Indeed, he enrolled in the CCSF Biotechnology Program because he wanted to understand how cells work. He even had “dreams of pipetting” as a child. Nonetheless, Nico never considered himself smart enough to actually work in a lab.

Curiosity-fueled success in the lab

Nico’s general curiosity and affability dazzled Yanxin as he interviewed internship candidates. Yanxin was expecting to find candidates who viewed the internship as a means to an end. For instance they might be prepping for grad school or boosting their resumes. In Nico, he instead found someone who was genuinely interested in science. This was ideal for Yanxin, whose research focuses on the ways cells create well-functioning molecular parts instead of something more applied like developing a cure for disease.

This same curiosity enabled Nico to rapidly learn important lab skills. Biology research can be tedious at times because living things are finicky. Thus biologists must be very careful when setting up experiments. They often spend time troubleshooting rather than getting data. Nico saw troubleshooting as a learning opportunity. He understood more about biology every time he repeated an experiment. 

For instance, when purifying proteins from cells, he may have had to alter the growth conditions many times to get the cells to reliably produce enough protein. Some might find this boring, but it showed Nico just how sensitive cells are to their environment. It also made the moment he could finally store his purified proteins in the freezer just that much sweeter.

Of course, Nico couldn’t have succeeded without Yanxin’s help. Nico’s time working in more people-focused roles gave him the ability to confidently ask questions, but he needed a good mentor to answer those questions. Yanxin previously took on mentees in the lab and got additional mentorship training through workshops at UCSF. He thus knew the importance of carefully explaining how and why they were doing experiments and didn’t shrug Nico off. 

This enabled Nico to forge new experimental paths. With his non-traditional mindset, Nico wasn’t bound to do things the way they’d always been done in the lab. He could also try new things with the confidence that Yanxin was there to back him up.

Yanxin says he was surprised by how good it felt to see Nico grow and improve as a researcher. He believes that Nico became skilled at a variety of biochemistry techniques more quickly than himself. Furthermore, Nico and Yanxin developed a real friendship during their time in the lab. Nico’s curious questioning spurred many interesting conversations that made working together truly enjoyable. Indeed, they both agree that their diversity of experiences, career paths, and ways of thinking have led to their highly successful and mutually beneficial partnership.