This summer has been one great ride of discovery! I cannot wait to continue to conduct research while I am at UCSB and even beyond. Not only are the faculty members here considerate and determined, but, most importantly, are also willing to trust young undergraduates who are simply enthusiastic to dive into the incredibly thrilling world of research.

One very exhilarating part about research is not only uncovering answers you set out as your goal, but also discovering things about your project that you did not even have set out in search of. For example, I have been looking into the role of PHA-4 and the effects it has in the pharynx and the uterus of a C. elegan. As I was going through the hundreds of worms that I took pictures of using a fluorescence microscope, I came across few worms that not only had a cyan color fluorescence in the pharynx like I had expected, but also had cyan colored muscle cells. This cyan color was given off by the fluorescently tagged IFB-2 protein that is intestine specific.This shows us that the muscle cells of the C. elegan possibly have the capability of transdifferentiating (going from one differentiated cell type directly into another) into intestinal cells. A concept that was not even considered when this project was taken on.

Presenting your findings is another aspect of research that I was able to experience and enjoy because of this internship. At first I never expected the audience gathered at this poster session to have much interest in the research I was conducting because a large majority of the posters dealt with subcategories of engineering while I was of the molecular, cellular, and developmental biology department. What I realized after the poster session was that the people attending this session were not there for a specific subject, but for the acquisition of general scientific knowledge. This is why I was excited to explain my project to many people that came across my poster as well as go around and understand the projects undertaken by other undergraduates.

As my EUREKA internship over the summer comes to a close, I have realized that this internship has given me a new appreciation for the applicability of science instead of just learning about parts of science that have already been discovered. Although you learn about the history of science in a science class, the actual practice of science not only allows to learn as you go along, but it also helps develop your own practical and problem solving skills within a laboratory setting. DOING science is much different than simply STUDYING science. Much appreciation to all that have taken a role in creating and sustaining this enriching program (Arica Lubin, Kevin Moore, M. Ofelia Aguirre, CSEP, CNSI) as well as to Dr. Rothman for allowing me to join his wonderful lab and also to my mentor, Misty Riddle. I cannot wait to continue to do what I love in the years to come!