Student Research at Duke

So I haven’t written in this blog in quite some time. School tends to do that. Anyways, research is still going well. Lately I’ve been working on replacing a color marker with another color marker so that we can eventually insert it into our in vitro cultures of MEF cells. We’re now trying to figure out the cellular pathway that leads to the drastic phenotype that occurs from conditionally knocking out the PI3K gene in both sensory neurons and in all neurons. Perhaps it is retrograde signaling..perhaps not…but we shall see!

I also find it fascinating how much easier and more enjoyable Bio 118 at Duke (genetics and molecular bio- one of those really feared pre-med/bio major classes due to the challenging material) has been as a result of my experiences in this lab. Also, my past experience in the cytogenetics lab at Magee Women’s Hospital under Dr. Surti, who is an incredible woman and researcher, has helped prepare me as well. I find genetics and molecular/cell biology to be so fascinating- combined with my interest in neuroscience, I find it fascinating just how resilient the human body is and what the brain is capable of. It’s astounding to think of all the reactions that must occur in order to keep our body functioning and how many different pathways there are to ensure that a certain end is reached. For instance, I am a vegetarian, and in the past I have not been very conscientious about consuming enough protein. Even then, my body still compensated for this, which I find amazing.

In general, I really love how my classes and my lab experience have all overlapped. Organic chemistry is so relevent to genetics and molecular biology (which is why I’m really looking forward to biochemistry- I think it’s going to be a really fun class for me), and my developmental psychology class has taught me a lot about major milestones of development and how certain things (such as hormones and whatnot) must be present at certain times as well as how detrimental teratogens are at some points in utero and not at others.

In addition to this, my EMS experience has helped me appreciate the whole human body, tying all these courses together. (For example, we learned in orgo today how ethanol in excess is metabolized to a toxic product because the body is overwhelmed and cannot fully convert it to the end product.) I’ve reached the point where I see how organic chem and cell biology all come together to produce medical emergencies. I think that being able to keep sight of how all these topics interrelate and how essential it is to know these biochemical pathways in order to really understand medicine later will help me be a better doctor in the future.

When I was a little kid, about 3 or 4 years old, I used to go to “work” every day. When I was at “work” I did several things- build houses from Legos, make structures out of clay, and oddly enough steal my dad’s old stethoscope and try to perform patient assessments on my dolls. I even went as far as medicating them with Tylenol I’d steal from the medicine cabinet which my mother later accused me of consuming myself, not understanding that it was for my dolls. Sheeesh.

As you can see, yes, I was an odd child, but more importantly, I’ve wanted to enter the medical field ever since I was 3 or 4. My dad is a physician that now heads a pathology lab. Back in the day, he’d bring me into work and show me cool stuff like tapeworms in jars that were extracted from people or microscopes. I was an easily amused child. When I finally hit middle school and high school, my science courses increased my interest in medicine, making me like it for reasons other than “I want to be like my dad.” Community service is something that I’ve always held as being extremely valuable, and since I’m good at science and love it, the medical field suits me.

I started working in a lab the summer after 10th grade. I’ve spent time now both in a clinical lab and a wet lab. I’ve found that I enjoy both, but professionally, I can see myself having a clinical lab.

Before applying to this program, I was more persuaded to go on a straight MD track. Now, I’m not so sure. I like research…but I also like interacting with patients. I’m contemplating the MD/PhD track more seriously now (I’ve tossed the idea around before), and if I don’t end up with a PhD, I still plan on doing research with clinical data. My father pointed out that this is definitely feasible too.

We’ll see what happens. Until then, I’m staying in Fan Wang’s Cell Biology lab next semester as it has been a rewarding experience this summer, and I’m going to continue doing Duke EMS (and possibly shadowing more people..).