Watkins et al.(2012) J AM Chem Soc 134(4):2120

From the beginning of the school year, I was very interested in what it meant to conduct research. Since I attend UCSB, which is ranked #2 in the nation in 2013 for its research impact according to the Leiden ranking, I knew that getting involved in research here would be a fantastic idea! However, I was a little intimidated as to how to get into a research lab. After all, I had barely completed my first quarter of general chemistry and had absolutely no experience doing research. Then one evening during fall quarter, I received a very interesting email from my chemistry lab professor, it read:

Research Internship:  If you are interested in participating in research, applications are now being accepted for the Early Undergraduate Research and Knowledge Acquisition (EUREKA) internship for first year undergraduate students.

Method #1: Pay close attention to emails regarding research opportunities

The part of the email that encouraged me to apply was that it was designed for first year students. Suddenly a window of opportunity was open, since the internship was looking for freshman, I knew that they would not expect us to have a lot of research experience.

Method #2: Apply! Don’t be intimidated

After I applied and I was notified that I had been chosen for the internship, I began my search for a lab to join over the summer. This part of the process tested my perseverance, since finding a lab that would mentor me for such a short time period was quite a challenge.

Method #3: Find a lab that interests you

My advice for finding a lab would be:

• Look up the professor whose research is most interesting to you and in the department that you have a passion for.
• After finding some professors who interest you, send them an email. If after 2 days the professor still has not replied, feel free to send another If you still hear no reply you might want to figure out where their office is located and ask to schedule an appointment to meet with them.
• Communicate with your program coordinator since they will offer you invaluable advice.

This part of the process can become a time of nervously waiting for a response. I was very blessed to have a fabulous program coordinator who was very supportive and advised me on how to proceed. In fact, my program coordinator Arica Lubin, recommended that I email the Plaxco group within the chemistry department. As it turns out, I ended up joining the Plaxco group under the mentorship of two amazing post docs, Dr. Kurnik and Dr. Arroyo.

Method #4: Start your research!

Since the start of the summer research I have been blown away by the passion that my lab mentors have for their research. I am learning a lot and it is and will continue to be a life changing experience.

My research project is looking at how artificial surfaces can affect proteins and nucleic acids. In the body, biomolecules such as proteins come into contact with surfaces such as the cell membrane without losing their 3D structure or function. However, this is not the case for many artificial surfaces; contact with artificial surfaces (e.g. a surgical implant or an electrode in a biosensor) oftentimes causes proteins to irreversibly unfold and adhere to the surface. Over time this build up on the artificial surface can create problems. The goal of the project is to understand the physics behind the biomolecular surface interactions so we can minimize this type of biomolecular mis-folding.