Summer is officially, here. For some, that means kicking back, relaxing and enjoying your time off from university or school whilst soaking up some rays. For others, it means landing that a summer role in order to boost your CV whilst making some money for the holidays.
For me, this summer I have planned to undertake research experience at a research laboratory. This is funded by the Wellcome Trust and I have been awarded their Biomedical Vacation Scholarship allowing me to undertake research experience for 8 weeks. Throughout this time I will be responsible for my own research project whilst learning some new and exciting laboratory techniques. I am so excited about this coming summer and therefore, I decided to keep a weekly log of activities on what I will be doing, keeping you up to speed with my progress of research experience.
My initial motivations for spending a part of my summer at a research facility is due to my interest in science and experimental work. I've always wanted to gain an insight in the day-to-day events of working in a laboratory and undertaking this experience would not only provide this but will also help me to build laboratory skills. This experience would therefore would help me gain essential skills which I can use for my 3rd year university project but also aid to towards me confirming my career aspirations.
Below, I'll comply the main things which I would like to explore about my first week of experience in the research lab.
What I did during the first week: As it was the first week, I mainly shadowed a post-doc (post-PhD student) research fellow, who is my supervisor, around the lab whilst she worked on various experiments she is working on. Each day was different and would consist of either working all day in the lab or having meetings, writing up reports and analysing collected data.
First Impressions: I have found this week to be really interesting, it has definitely been a huge eye opener and I am enjoying every minute of it.
Highlight: Being able to contribute to the project my supervisor and other research fellows are working on by helping them isolate lymphocytes (white blood cells) from liver samples
What I'm looking forward to next week: Being able to start my research project in order to gain the full on hands-on research experience which I have been looking forward to.
Thanks guys for reading and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to comment below.
Until next time, Bye! x
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