Harvard Medical School

Microbiology Laboratory Assistant

May - August 2021 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I really liked the ability to work with researchers in a laboratory setting. I was able to learn a lot from the people I worked with and got experiences with a variety of techniques and data presentation.

What I wish was different

The only negative was that the social experience of working in the lab was diminished due to COVID regulations. Even with the restrictions it was still a great experience.

Advice

Your ability to learn and work independently can really determine how meaningful your experience is.

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Visiting Undergraduate Research Fellow in Bioinformatics

June 2020 • Boston, MA

What I liked

What I wish was different

I had a lot of fun learning what I did, but I still mourn not being able to do so in Boston and form a bond with the others in my program

Advice

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Lab Intern

July - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

Friendliness of the researchers as well as the other students interning at the lab.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more experience going into the lab. Most of the work did not require an in-depth knowledge of neuroscience, but it would have been helpful to better understand what I was helping with.

Advice

Make friends when and where you can. People are usually happy to talk and interact so take advantage of that as much as possible.

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Research Intern

June - August 2019 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I liked it a lot, especially the freedom that came with doing research. I liked having a lot of responsibility, and the freedom that came with it.

What I wish was different

Nothing, I loved it!

Advice

Make sure you stay on top of everything!

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Research Technician

September 2017 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I love the laboratory I work in; the community is great, I have been trained on many different techniques in molecular biology, and systems/molecular and behavioral neuroscience and have contributed to multiple different research projects.

What I wish was different

I wish my hourly wage was higher.

Advice

Get involved in research as early as you can!

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Summer Intern

June - August 2017 • Boston, MA

What I liked

learning experience, lab mentorship, shadowing

What I wish was different

communication with program participants, organizational skills of administrators

Advice

ask questions and take advantage of your time there

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Research intern

June - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

Everything. It was a stupendous experience.

What I wish was different

My ability to live on my own while balancing everything.

Advice

Highly recommend going to a new city to do an internship.

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Neurobiology Summer Student

May - July 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I liked the independence I was given to explore cerebellar networks.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have participated in a program-like experience where I had been with more summer students.

Advice

Make sure to read recent papers that are relevant and understand the science you are studying! It took me a few weeks to actually grasp the biology, and I wish I understood it earlier.

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BCMP Summer Scholar

June - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

Great experience, got to work on amazing, cutting edge research, got great mentorship.

What I wish was different

Really not much. All in all a very positive experience

Advice

Depending on the lab you're placed in, it can be a pretty serious time commitment. Wet lab science like this can work on a weird schedule that you can't always control for.

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Student Intern

June - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I loved the people in my lab and the research we were doing.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have made a little more money.

Advice

Make sure you learn and remember how to speak about the research you conduct, and what it's significance is.

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Research Assistant

May - August 2016 • Boston, MA

What I liked

Working on my own research project under the mentorship of a postdoctoral fellow.

What I wish was different

I wish there could have been more undergraduate students at the lab.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask when you don't know something.

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Research Fellow

June - August 2017 • Boston, MA

What I liked

The people were great as well as the city and everything else as well.

What I wish was different

Nothing, everything was perfect.

Advice

Enjoy both the experience and the city!

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Research Intern

June - August 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I was able to work on a lot of different projects at once. I was exposed to a lot of different things at such a young age. It was an eye-opening experience.

What I wish was different

I wish I had more time in the summer to to work and expand on my research project.

Advice

Never think you are too young to try. I was a freshman who was given an internship for seniors. I persuaded the committee to give me an interview, and they were impressed. They let me be a part of it. Always try!

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Research Intern

June - September 2018 • Boston, MA

What I liked

I liked the entrepreneurial side of this internship. Essentially it was me pitching ideas with the Harvard Med research team and the professor taught me how to pose research questions and I even tried pursuing a few. We’re still pursuing some of my ideas.

What I wish was different

I wish I knew R or Stata so I can work more with the RAs on getting data and creating graphs. I was working more with the professor on creating ideas.