Second year Msci Cell and Developmental Biology student Huiru Lian shares her experience working at the Institute of Zoology, Beijing, over the summer. She recounts the exciting work she was undertaking, as well as the skills needed to approach and manage experiments performed in the lab. Her inspiring article also touches on the courage needed in life to help you move towards for your goals.
This year, I had an internship at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing. My work was mainly about checking the logic and grammar of the papers about to be published. I also carried out some time-consuming, but straightforward, experimental procedures so my colleagues could spend more time on other things, such as designing the new experiments.
I was able to get involved in the genetic engineering of a specific species of bacteria that have positive effects on liver fibrosis. However, this paper has not yet been published, thus, I could not give out more details. For practical work, I performed PCRs, western-blotting, gel electrophoresis, DNA extraction, cell flow cytometry and tissue sectioning etc. I also learned how to do animal testing using rats in several different experiments, including inducing their brown adipose tissue activation and blood glucose levels.
The work I did was all about patience and being brave enough to ask questions. In my opinion, performing an experiment is not difficult to do, because we have all the procedures and methods written down. Even if the first few experiments do not give significant results, subsequent trials probably will. The tricky thing was more about adjusting my feelings towards failures, and my fear of knowing nothing. All my colleagues were willing to help me with something that a first-year biology student would find difficult. I think it is essential to put in extra effort and reach out for bits of help in any working environment.
Additionally, we need to step out of our comfort zone and try as many things as possible. My lead researcher comes from an impoverished town in Northeast China. It was difficult for anyone from his town to walk out of those mountains in his teenage years. However, he tried everything he could to go to Harvard, even when everyone mocked him. He also told me that every time we think something is impossible, it means we are already on our way to the goal. I think that was the best thing I have learnt from this work experience. Do not fear the future; trying to do what you want to do, at this moment, is the most important thing.
I would advise students who want to get an internship at a lab to read the papers beforehand, find what you are interested in, and send emails to the lead researchers, with CVs attached. The most important thing to include in your CV, in my opinion, is saying why you would be the person they want (e.g. your degree, your skills) and even telling them what you think you can get from this experience. Some people only talk about how good they are, but there will always be other qualified people competing. If you have connections, use them. Talk to different people about your interests, and some of them probably will offer you an internship or even help you reach out to the jobs. Good luck to everyone.
If you enjoyed Huiru’s article and want to get in touch, you can email her via your UCL email address.