Coming to OSSM, I never would have anticipated the extent of which the mentorship program would benefit me and contribute to my OSSM experience.
The summer before junior year, I was able to take American History 1 so that I would be finished with my first year of history by the end of junior year first semester. This provided me the opportunity to start my mentorship spring semester of junior year. I had been tremendously interested in neuroscience for years, and eagerly indicated this when I signed up for my mentorship.
Dr. Richards managed to find a lab in the Stanton Young Biomedical Research Center for me to work in. In early February, I began work in the Geriatrics Department in a neuroscience lab under Dr. Ferenc Deak.
The research was essentially analyzing how the Munc-18 gene mutation affects mice behaviorally and neurologically. We receive the mice genetically modified and work with a heterozygous mutations and wild type. The neurological functions are monitored with experiments including Long Term Potentiation to monitor learning, FM Imaging which records the rate of synaptic vesicle exocytosis in neurons, and behavior experiments recording the way the mice behave in the water maze.
My role, specifically, has been to conduct the FM experiments working with culture plates of neurons. When I first entered the lab, I completed my training and began to work with more specific procedures, PCR’s, DNA Digestions, data analysis, etc. By summer, I was familiar enough with the lab to focus on my own experiment, which became FM imaging.
For me, mentorship has been so much more than an extracurricular activity; it has been a life changing experience. I have been able to make many connections and participate in research that most students are not able to engage in until graduate school. There is a substantial amount to learn from experience that a textbook simply does not even scratch the surface.
It has truly been an amazing experience, and I look forward to continuing next semester.