Scanning electron micrograph of a HeLa cell undergoing apoptosis
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Agarose gel of bacterial plasmids
Undergraduate research bench
HIV-infected H9 T-cell
Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Welcome to Undergrad in the Lab!
Undergraduate research can be incredibly rewarding, but where do you start and how do you succeed? Navigating this unfamiliar territory is not easy. Here you will find advice on how to find a research position, and how to get the most out of your experience.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
— Albert Szent-Györgi (1893-1986) U. S. biochemist.
Whether this is your first semester on campus or your first semester in a new lab some awkward nervousness is to be expected. If you find yourself a little overwhelmed remember that almost everyone new is going through the same thing. Not sure that's true? Look to the PEEPS for a little bit of wisdom.
Those marshmallow bunnies have it all figured out.
The first few weeks of a new semester are often the most exciting. They are also, typically, the most expensive in both time and lab reagents.
Even if you only took a short break between the end of the last semester and the start of a new one, simply getting out of a lab routine can throw off your game.
Therefore, before you start an experiment this week, no matter how confident you are, take an extra few minutes to read over the entire protocol before you start.
If you’ll submit that all-important packet for the next step in your career next spring, you might not be thinking much about your recommendation letters this August. And, if that is indeed the case, pay close attention to this #ProTip: You should reconsider your strategy.
If you're premed, you have approximately 8 months until it's time to ask for letters from your professors (give or take a few weeks depending on your specific circumstances). But that doesn't mean that you have 7 1/2 months until you need to think about those letters.
A student asked us to help her understand the difference between a resume and a CV. She had read “a bunch of stuff online” and was confused what she should name her document. She said, “ I’m a bio engineering major but am applying for volunteering for a job in an art museum.” So which is it a resume or CV?
In a week or so, many of you who participated in a full-time summer research experience will once again become a part-time researcher and full-time student. Keep this tip in mind from the article we posted earlier this summer, 10 Things to Expect From Your Summer Undergrad Research Experience.
Early in my career, a tenured professor told me, "If you sneeze, and it's a good sneeze, keep track of it." At the time I doubted it would matter but I've been forever grateful that I followed his advice.
Writing down noteworthy (and seemingly insignificant) accomplishments, skills, and activities while the details are fresh in your mind can make all the difference when you need to update a Resume or CV for a scholarship, volunteer, job, or program application.