Broadening My Personal and Professional Horizons
June 1, 2024
Hello, my name is Eden Reap and I am a rising Senior at the University of Delaware, where I am majoring in Biology with a minor in Exercise Science hoping to eventually go into the biotechnology industry after graduate school. For as long as I can remember, I have had a distinct interest in science, from AP biology to getting my first toy microscope in 4th grade, I utilized every opportunity I had to learn more about science and what careers this field had to offer. Going into my freshman year of college I thought I would finally narrow down specifically what I wanted to do with my passion for science, but quickly found myself pulled in so many different directions in this whole new world of academia. For the next two years at school I searched for a career that could encompass all that I loved about the sciences (which was a lot) but kept coming up short, only finding programs that I felt would pigeonhole my career and set me down only one specific path.
It was around this time that I got an email from my college career center for a program over the summer at Fox Chase. With further research I learned that all applicants were invited to attend a discovery day at the center to simply learn about what the staff do with no strings attached. In all my applications to different summer programs I had never seen something like this in which applicants were simply invited to learn. So, excitedly, I applied to the program and went on a discovery day tour of the center where I was greeted by Dr. Leystra and Dr. Purdy who walked us through some of the research at the center and provided an overview of cancer research and treatment as a whole. I had never been exposed to a center that incorporated both the treatment of patients as well as the research of new therapies. Suddenly I saw an opportunity to merge both sides of science that I loved: the patient-facing and research focused sides literally existed in unison with one another. Further on in the discovery day it became clear to me that this wasn’t a program simply meant to interest you in cancer research but to also expose you to the wide variety of careers in STEM. Instead of feeling pigeonholed, I felt like this was a space where I could really grow my interests, so I applied and was accepted to the program.
I went into my first week at bootcamp feeling very overwhelmed and worried I wouldn't be able to keep up with the other interns, but Dr. Leystra, and Dr. Purdy started from the very basic concepts of research to ensure our complete understanding of the material. They were able to break down the more complex topics into easily digestible chunks and skills that we could hopefully transfer to our lab project over the rest of the summer. I was learning so much every single day that it was easy to still feel slightly overwhelmed. Thankfully, I made quick friends with the other interns as we spent all day every day for a week, working together through complex problems and taking the occasional much needed taco break.
Now I am responsible for my own research project in Dr. Neil Johnson’s Lab investigating the mechanisms of DNA damage detection, repair and signaling that occur in BRCA1 mutant protein containing organisms. My mentor Dr. Wei-Ting Yueh has been incredibly helpful in getting me acclimated to the lab environment, introducing me to the staff, and breaking down difficult mechanisms and techniques into information I can understand and apply to my project.
My time at Fox Chase so far has been invaluable to not just my technical and laboratory knowledge but also my professional knowledge and experience with various professional development talks and workshops. I can see that the staff here is committed to not just developing the mind but the entire individual, which can be easily overlooked in a lot of programs. I have already learned so much from this program in so little time and I cannot wait to see how my interests grow throughout these next ten weeks.
Learning Through Setbacks
July 12, 2024
This summer I am working in Dr. Niel Johnson’s lab investigating optimal degron tags for the BRCA1 gene. The Johnson lab is focused on learning more about the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and in order to do that, the lab wants to investigate different ways to observe these genes in the cell. One way we can do this is through degron tagging. A degron tag is a gene sequence that we can attach to our gene of interest (BRCA1) and if we expose the cell to a certain trigger drug, the tag will be activated and cause the cell to go through a system called PROTAC which degrades any proteins made by the gene of interest. Vice versa if we do not expose the cell to the certain trigger drug, the BRCA1 gene sequence will not be degraded. This system allows us to observe whether having or not having BRCA1 gene expression in a cell, hopefully leading to better understanding of the BRCA1 gene and its behavior in a cell. Unfortunately, there is not just one tag that works with all genes. Each different degron tag has a different efficiency with different proteins and depending on which side of the gene the tag is attached to. Therefore, in order to make sure we use a degron system that is accurate and efficient enough to yield high quality results, I will be identifying which type of degron tag is most effective with the BRCA1 gene specifically.
It’s been about a month since I started this project and already, I feel as though I have learned so much, not only about BRCA1 and degron tagging, but about the flow and dynamics of a lab and research as well. In the first week of my project, we ran into an error where we were getting strange concentrations of our degron tags we were trying to isolate. We repeated this protocol for the rest of the week, always getting the same strange results. I became discouraged and thought it was something I was doing; I started thinking “maybe I’m not cut out for this career after all”. Finally on our 4th time redoing this protocol, my mentor and I realized that our strange results were due to a setting that had been changed on the computer, and that I had been completing this experiment correctly the entire time. Although it was frustrating, I was just glad we finally found the problem and it wasn’t a huge mistake on my part :)
This setback, although hard to deal with at the moment, is helping me now in my project. We are having trouble getting the correct orientation of our degron tags but with my previous experience in setbacks, I am confident that through some troubleshooting of our methods and reasoning that we will be able to move forward in the project with the correct plasmids. If you had told me about this news at the beginning of this summer, I would have been greatly troubled by the setback and would have been first to question my own belonging at the lab. It is amazing to see how a month can change my understanding of science and create a sense of belief in myself. I’ve now learned setbacks are a part of science and the research process. Even though they are not ideal, setbacks can sometimes lead to a new and better understanding of the world around you. So, I have come to appreciate them, and work through them much more in the last month than I ever thought to be possible, and I have this program, and lab to thank.
Is It Possible to Be Proud and Humble at the Same Time?
August 24, 2024
This summer I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Empower Fellowship summer program where I worked in Dr. Niel Johnson’s lab to help identify optimal degron tags for the BRCA1 gene. Before going through this program, I was expecting to get some research experience, but mostly watch other experts do the actual “science” parts, and to present what I observed at the end of the summer. Luckily for me I was incredibly wrong; not only was I given my own project to work on that tied into other lab members’ projects, but I was mentored and taught how to complete the experiment on my own. Although challenging at first, I found my realm of knowledge to be expanding greatly every single day which was incredibly rewarding to experience. It felt like I was really part of the lab, not just another summer intern.
Beyond the intensive research experience that I gained this summer we have also participated in various career research talks, and workshops that have been invaluable as I begin my professional career journey shortly. Going into this summer I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do after graduation, or even how to start navigating the job market and career networking field. However, this program has been crucial in building my understanding of how to navigate the scientific research industry and has given me valuable tools to help me be successful as a young professional. Beyond research I learned so much about the cancer research field, and career pathways in health sciences that helped me to decide on an outline of where to go after graduation. The most valuable advice that I was given this summer was that no career path is straight and narrow, and all professionals have different stories and paths to their eventual career choice. The advice that I was able to receive on career paths, job hunting, graduate school applications etc. was so helpful in giving me some guidance and an idea of what to expect for my future.
After the 10 weeks of research and workshops, it all culminated in us presenting our research at the end of the summer, which was an experience like no other. This research day was a culmination of everything we had worked towards this summer and although everyone was very nervous, we were also incredibly excited and proud of our work. To see all of my fellow interns presenting and answering hard questions confidently for their research was so great to see, because it so greatly illustrated how far we had come in just 10 weeks.
From coming into Fox Chase and being lost 90% of the time, to performing and presenting our own experiments was incredible to see. I felt so lucky not only to get this experience but to also have seen all my fellow interns grow throughout this summer because we all went through it together. I will forever be thankful for this experience as it has truly changed my life and challenged me both as a scientist, and young professional. It required me to step outside of my comfort zone a lot, but also gave me the tools to succeed when doing so. So yes, it is possible to be proud and humbled at the same time. I am so incredibly proud of myself for participating in this program and presenting my research at the end of the summer, but I am also so humbled by the sheer amount of knowledge and talent there is in Fox Chase let alone the rest of the world. This experience truly is like no other and I hope to use the foundation I’ve been able to lay here as a springboard for the next steps in my career path.