How do you see yourself making decisions about your own life beyond HTHMA? Do you see yourself following a life similar to anyone you met at internship? Why or why not?
This internship experience really solidified my decision to not want to work at a desk all day in the future. My lab internship was online and when I was reading about experiments done in the actual lab, I wanted to be there very badly. Instead, I was at home on my computer all day, and while I learned very valuable skills that I would not trade, I know that doing this type of work as a career will not be my ideal choice. I could definitely see myself doing something more similar to what Dr. Purcell does on a day-to-day basis because she is in a lab doing experiments and interacting with or mentoring other people in her lab. As someone who enjoys working with others, I sometimes felt isolated while working at home alone. If I were to be in an actual workplace, I know I would have coworkers to converse and collaborate with and this is something very important to me when picking a future career.
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What are you thankful for in your internship experience?
So far, I have been very thankful for my mentor's enthusiasm and dedication to being my mentor. Dr. Purcell does a lot of mentorship for people of all stages in their education (high school to post-doc) and her knowledge of how to be a mentor really stands out. During my mentor interview, I felt like I gained so much helpful advice about my future, not only in regards to if I decide to pursue a career in scientific research but about the workforce and higher education in general. During my project, she has been very patient when I have had to ask questions about scientific concepts I did not know about, and has also given me many tips about how to read scientific papers which I have not done before. Overall, I have learned so much in the short amount of time that I have been at this internship and I am very thankful that Dr. Purcell has taken the time to make this such a meaningful and enriching experience. Post the highlights from your mentor interview and explain what makes these quotes meaningful to you.
"Use your resources wisely in college, especially getting to know your professors and getting them to know you." This piece of advice from Dr. Purcell was really meaningful to me because she explained that she got her first research position just by having a conversation about research with one of her professors and this really made me realize how important it is to connect with people, especially those who may have connections that would be beneficial to you in the future. "Make the job you want. The job you want might not be the one you get, but you can make the job you want. It took a couple years and a road-turn but I got back on track" This part of the interview really stood out to me because Dr. Purcell described how when she was at the start of her career, she had a really linear vision of what it would look like, but it is really important to be flexible and adapt your expectations to what is available. At one point in her career, she had to take a job that might not have been exactly what she wanted, but through perseverance she was able to make it something that fit her needs and helped her further her career in a way that was beneficial to her. "You can't take failure personally." To me, this was the most meaningful takeaway from my interview with Dr. Purcell. When describing the challenging grant funding climate, she really explained that you will fail and that failure is okay. What is most important is not to take the reviewer's critiques personally and pick back up and continue working hard to resubmit. I felt like this lesson could be applied to many areas of life and not just scientific research. Failure is valuable because it teaches grit and hard work, and those skills are transferable to any career. What limitations have you recognized in yourself that you want to overcome during internship, or use this internship experience to help you overcome?
So far, one of the biggest limitations I have recognized in myself is the lack of knowledge I have of specific medical terms and advanced biological processes being discussed in the scientific papers I have been reading. I have had to do additional clarifying searches about concepts I do not yet understand while reading these papers which makes reading and summarizing take a lot longer. While doing this, I have noticed that I have already learned so much more about how to research and about the specific topics I am researching, but as my internship continues, I hope to continue growing in these ways and becoming more confident in my ability to understand these complex topics. Describe your internship project. What will you be doing? What will the final product look like? Which skills (academic, creative, technical) will you utilize and/or develop as you do the project. How will the project benefit the organization?
My internship project is in the form of a literature review about how myocardial infarction causes cognitive impairment and mood disorders. To begin writing this review, I conducted a literature search, and have now begun going through reviews on this topic to familiarize myself with the subject and the medical terms used frequently. Following this step, I will begin taking notes and summarizing papers on this topic to be included in our own review. I'm not completely sure what the final product will look like because I do not know how far in the review I will get, but it should be the start of a literature review. Dr. Purcell has also mentioned that I may be able to continue working on the review after the duration of my internship. For this project, I will develop research skills related to reading scientific papers, communication skills when discussing my findings, and time management skills when keeping myself at a good pace for taking notes on the many papers. I will also learn writing skills related to the medical research field. This project will benefit the organization because Dr. Purcell was asked to write a review regarding myocardial infarction, and I am helping begin this review. What are you most concerned about in your internship?
I am most concerned about not understanding the complex biological concepts in Dr. Purcell's field of study. So far, I have only taken an introductory biology course and still have a lot to learn in the subject. While this is definitely a worry of mine, I am also hoping that it forces me to work hard to understand new concepts and grow in that way. What type of work do you plan to do? What are your hopes for your project? For my internship, I plan to start writing a literature review about how myocardial infarction (heart attack) affects the brain. I will need to do a lit search first, then take notes on relevant articles, and finally start the process of writing the review. My hopes for this project are that I become better at dissecting and understanding scientific papers and also learn how to write in a professional scientific way. I am really looking forward to this because I am interested in studying science and believe I can take these skills with me as I move into the medical (and potential medical-research) field. |
May 24th-June 18thInternship at Huntington Medical Research Institutes in Dr. Nicole Purcell's lab |