Professional Goals
Professional Goal: Medical School
For the majority, it is difficult to separate the life of a medical student from research. After all, future physicians are strong candidates to understand and lead the many frontiers of research. I am excited to be able to contribute to my research team, all the same while, familiarizing myself with the research process as a whole. To add, this experience has helped me develop professionally through interactions with my colleagues. I have a better grasp of professional etiquette than when first beginning.
Develop an understanding of hypothesis-driven research and its methodology
Having little research experience prior to this internship, I would like to understand the research experience both inside and outside of the laboratory. That is, I would like to understand the many steps needed to produce successful research so as to determine to what extent and in what capacity I would like to pursue research in the future.
Before diving into my research project, I consulted previous publication to not only understand the beginnings and forefront of my topic, but also to begin to develop new research ideas. This allows me to have a level of understanding that is enough to produce a reasonable hypothesis. Furthermore, I was able to familiarize myself with the method of conducting research on my topic when consulting the literature.
Improve critical thinking by being able to interpret experimental data accurately and ethically
Perhaps of most importance is being able to understand what results mean. This is where key discoveries are made. As a result, I would like to improve my critical thinking skills so as to properly interpret results using statistics and applying my understanding.
After conducting isometric tension experiments, tests used to quantify the level of endothelial dysfunction, I analyze the data using software. It is important I am careful in obtaining the values of endothelial dysfunction, as a mistake could lead to results that are false positive or vice versa. Furthermore, I present my results using a graphing software, where I am also able to incorporate important statistics to determine the significance of the results.
Apply what I learned in my classes and familiarize myself with anatomical structures with greater detail
I learn best in being able to connect classroom material to real life examples. Consequently, I will be seeking to make connections between the classroom and laboratory so as to reinforce my learning. In particular, I would like to gain a better of understanding of anatomical structures through dissection.
I have not only been able to make many connections, but have also learned much more about the human system using rat models. Specifically, learning the critical roles the endothelium plays in the proper functioning of an organism and the consequences dysfunction of the endothelium brings, has been fascinating to learn about. Furthermore, I have become more familiarized with key anatomical landmarks such as the heart and uterus through many dissection and isolation of these tissues.