Lab life: Elegantly Simple and yet Complex

This is where the future is created. Like any of the world’s established and influential labs, the Rothman lab surges with groundbreaking ideas and discoveries. As I immerse myself into a summer of full-time research through the Beckman Program, it is difficult not to notice the dedication and passion of Graduate and Post Doctoral students in the lab. I realize, this is where every idea opens hundreds of possibilities, and every discovery leads to many new questions.  It is an environment for all the Curious Georges, fixers and thinkers to grow. And most importantly for UCSB students, it is a fascinating classroom that challenges and expands skills to facilitate growth into future scientists and world-changers.

Amid the buzzing of incubators, unpredictable hissing of the Nitrogen tank and occasional clatter of poly-styrene plates, our molecular biology lab team members undertake a large diversity of tasks to explore a specific area of interest. Experimentation is a medium to answer the developmental biology questions focused in our lab, but many hours of concentration are also devoted towards literature review, devising controlled and solid experimental designs, and critically analyzing observations.

Two Adult hermaphrodite worms use sinusoidal movements to move. They are surrounded by developing worms in various larval stages.

Specifically, our lab team experiments using the “elegantly simple” nematode called C. elegans. Although it’s so tiny, 1mm as an adult, the worm enables substantive study of development, differentiation and cell death because of it’s transparent appearance, and known, invariant cell lineage. My project involves studying a specific area of cell death in this animal to elucidate how favorable mitochondrial DNA molecules are inherited. To study this biological question, we will use elements of chemistry and genetics, reminding me that all fields are very interdisciplinary now.  I’ve learned so many fascinating molecular biology and worm techniques like how a probe binding to a specific DNA segment is indicated by a light signal used to quantify DNA levels, a process called qPCR; or how crossing different strains of worms can create a new genotype removing entire mutations from the gene pool. I’ve also learned scientific inquiry and thinking open-mindedly will make any unexpected result, not a failure, but a new opportunity to approach the same experiment in another way.

But, this new knowledge, growth and special experience as a young scientist would not be possible without the tremendous guidance I’ve received from Professor Rothman and my mentor, Sagen Peterson.  The interactions with and guidance I’ve received from experienced lab members, have made them not just the respectable scientists and troubleshooting “go-to-guys”, but friends with whom I share a passion for scientific curiosity and molecular biology. While we joke about cloning Super-worms at lab meeting, or “picking the best males” (from a plate of worms), the hard work of a researcher is not to be undermined. I’m grateful to the Beckman Program for providing this amazing opportunity and I’ve enjoyed the first month of it, learning and applying research skills to explore the mitochondrial DNA inheritance project.  I’m enthusiastic to learn more biological techniques, motivated to understand the mitochondrial DNA selection mechanism, and eager to delve into the beautiful world of molecular, cellular and developmental biology. Perhaps, in this way, the future, with a greater understanding of mitochondrial DNA inheritance, will be created.

Thank you Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, for putting your faith in the young

May 9th, 2011. 3:02:27 PM

Disbelief: My state of mind as I clicked on the awaited email titled Beckman Scholars Program Award.

Same day. 3:02:28 PM

One yelp-jump-in-the-air-call-your-mother-butterflies-fluttering-under-your-skin kind of Joy.

It amazes me that one single opportunity in college can lead to another and another and before you realize where you have been your career is underway. Through the SIMS program as a pre-freshman I was introduced to research and met the educators at CNSI. Through the mentorship of these individuals at CNSI, the EUREKA! Internship became a reality. And finally, after two years of dedicated research and diligent study, these sought-after experiences defined me as a qualified applicant for a nationwide scholarship program.

I am so grateful for the privilege of attending an educational institution at which success is within my reach, but I am even more appreciative that UCSB does not do the reaching for me. What I value most about UCSB is that it is the kind of school where you must first earn the opportunities that you are given. There aren’t any handouts around here. I think I like that the most. – Aside from the ocean of course.

This past summer the Beckman Scholarship enabled me to stay at UCSB to work full time in the research lab. I was putting in forty-plus hours a week and began to really get a feeling for the life of a scientist. It was a such a unique opportunity as an undergrad to focus solely on research without the stress of classes.

So far the most rewarding advantage of the Beckman Scholarship has been the opportunity to travel to different research conferences. The foundation provided the funding to attend the 2011 Beckman Scholars and Beckman Young Investigators Symposium at UC Irvine in August and I will have the chance to present my own research at the symposium next year. This past fall was a busy quarter of poster editing and printing for the SACNAS Conference in October, CNSI’s 10 year review at UCLA, and the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The first three conference experiences were intimate affairs at which students were given ample time and opportunity to meet one another, talk with more experienced scientists, network with admissions directors at other universities, and become introduced to a handful of recent research endeavors. However, at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in D.C., the sheer hugeness of the event – 32,357 in attendance at a giant convention center at the heart of the nation’s capital – completely redefined a scientific conference for me. I was astonished by the breadth of topics covered by mini-symposiums, special lectures, and a open hall (equivalent to at least six UCSB Thunderdomes) absolutely full of posters. There were so many different talks going on simultaneously that it was difficult to chose which ones to attend! However, I found that my favorite approach was to go through the schedule and pick the talks that sounded the most interesting – regardless of their relevance to my project – and see what there was to learn.

I have to say that last quarter was absolutely the busiest I have ever been. Preparing for a presentation at a conference first of all takes a lot of thought and time, and then attending the conferences usually meant missing classes. Missing lectures and a few midterms made getting those top grades even more difficult, but I think that in the long run, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to present your research to well-known scientists in your field far is more than worth the price of a few sleepless nights of catching up.