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My First Research Project

Before my freshmen year of college, Clarkson University took on the expensive venture of letting me research under a faculty mentor. That's right - before I took any introductory science courses or labs. While I of course didn't make any big discoveries, it was a deeply maturing, humbling, and inspiring experience. 

I'm going to now kill two birds with one stone. 1) Proper abstract format and 2) attempt to elucidate you on the details of my research. If you don't care about these two things (and I wouldn't blame you), just skip ahead. 

Here is the abstract of my research:

The Estrogen-Receptor Responsiveness in Various Cervical Epithelial Cell Lines

Name, Faculty Mentor(s)

Department of Biology, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY

                                                 

The major risk factor associated with cervical cancer is infection with high-risk strains of human papillomaviruses (HPV). HPV16 and 18 alone cause 70% of cancers attributable to HPV. However, HPV resolves spontaneously in 80 – 90% of cases; the low frequency of persisting infections suggests that HPV alone does not lead to cervical cancer. Scientists believe that non-viral cofactors, such as estrogen, must also contribute to the onset of cancer. The uterine cervix is highly responsive to estrogen and recent studies suggest that estrogen and its receptor, ERα, in combination with HPV oncogenes, contribute to carcinogenesis by inducing cell proliferation. We are measuring and comparing the estrogen responsiveness of cultured HPV16-immortalized, tumor, and normal cervical epithelial cell lines. Cells are transfected with a reporter gene containing the estrogen response element (ERE) attached to the firefly luciferase gene. The cells are treated with varying dosages of estradiol and the estrogen activity is determined using the dual luciferase assay. Overall, our findings support high estrogen sensitivity in normal cells and low responsiveness in tumor lines. We will use this data to determine the optimal dosage and duration of exposure to fulvestrant, an estrogen receptor inhibitor, as a treatment of HPV-infected cells.

I’d like to acknowledge and thank the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their support and funding, and for the resources and knowledge provided by our mentor, Dr. Craig Woodworth.

*DISCLAIMER* - It took me about 10 research articles to be able to understand what I was writing - so don't worry!

What I Learned from my First Research Project

1) Death Trap of Idealism

When students first enter STEM fields and consider the concept of "researching" they often enter a false notion of optimism. For the biochemistry student, she will find a cure for cancer; the evolutionary biology student will discover a new species; the engineer will build a cost-effective clean water delivering system for  third world countries. These are fine life goals to have, but as an undergraduate researcher your main goal is to master techniques. Little else (unless you are a junior or senior) is expected of you.

2.) Reading 

Thanks to my thoughtful mentors, any idealistic dreams that might have budded inside of me were smothered under the humbling load of dense academic papers that I was told to read. Reading these can be utterly DRAINING and understanding one article might take close to 100 Google searches to clarify terms and concepts. My advice - save the reading for home! If you read in between experiments you will likely be too tired to concentrate on your experiment.  Also, if you aren't already a coffee or tea drinker, become one.

3.) Don't Run into Dead Ends

So you made a hypothesis and you want so desperately for your data to support it. You construe the data or represent it in a way to best serve your interests. Don't fall into this

trap! If you have done enough trials, and it is clear that your data doesn't support your hypothesis, it's okay! An unsupported hypothesis often opens up new horizons of scientific possibilities and explanations. Research is all about critical thinking. Use the articles you have read to help clarify the meaning of your results and create a new hypothesis. When you reach a dead end, build new roads. 


For More Tips on Research, visit:  US News 8 Tips for the College Researcher

For Examples of Good Essays, visit: 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

I especially enjoyed Charlene Wong's "The Freedom to be Different" - probably because I am a second generation immigrant and can relate - which one is your favorite?

Does this Make me Look Insane? The College Essay I didn't Submit.

C’mon, try not to deplete the world’s water supply this time, I urged myself. Mechanically, I focused my eyes on the shampoo, picked it up, squirted some out, and started lathering. But the monotony and brainless nature of the task naturally caused me to lapse into thought. Deep, Brain-Hemorrhaging Thought. It was my enemy when I couldn't talk about it. 

 As I let the water soak my already soaked hair, my mind, for no conceivable reason, wondered to Darwinism. Humans, I reasoned, have to commit detestable actions to a certain extent. We have to kill animals and clear forests for energy and sustenance. In the same way, there are certain things we have to sacrifice to live in a structured society.  While I detest the application of Social Darwinism to justify the vices of human nature or the committing of atrocities, it is necessary to an extent, I reason with myself. Anyone who refutes the blessings of structured society would likely follow the fate of Chris McCandless, and the hundreds of transcendentalists before him. 

I recalled a book that an old English teacher had shown me when I had visited, just a few days ago. A book on the Metaphysics of Pain by a Female Harvard Professor. She was among the first of her kind in a sexist, male-dominated society. Her books – while quite full of jargon, convoluted language, unfitting metaphors, and far-fetched conclusions – were self-evident products that she could survive the harsh, unfeeling society that she was in.

I thought about my current English professor. He had written a couple a books…and maybe it was not an all together coincidence that his second book was coming out in the same year as his promotion….I found this immensely troubling. He was a great professor, but was he falling under the pressure of the institution? No, I reasoned with myself – he is to the heart a knowledge junkie. His very persona is professorial; he was simply meant to teach at university and do everything that being a professor entails. So maybe that’s the key, I thought. All careers have pressures and ramifications – one must just love the tangential tasks that a career demands, as well as the career itself.

            Well, this got me thinking about medicine. Doctors face pressure from insurance companies, pharmaceutical industries, and their employers. They perhaps may face the pressure to over diagnose, over-test, and overbook – all at the patient’s expense. However, these tangential tasks demanded of doctors directly contradict the precepts of the Hippocratic Oath: to heal and to care. Are practices that contradict an occupation’s initial purpose harbingers of a system that is broken? The healthcare debates of the past decades would suggest so; then again, nearly half the country is unconvinced of the need for healthcare policy change. Could one develop a mathematical relationship between the amount of contradictory practices and the policy change priority level? Would this objective logic system, if clearly explained, have any impact on public opinion of policy issues?

            I picked up the shampoo bottle and was about to squirt some into my hand before I realized I had already done this step. Fearing for my sanity, I shut the water, dried myself, and clothed in lightning speed.  I needed to talk to someone. But as I rushed out of the bathroom crazy-eyed and Medusa-haired, I remembered that I was home alone. My family had left to spend the day in Syracuse, whilst I was consigned to my room to complete college applications.

I guiltily assessed my lack of progress on the task. Resigned, I walked to my room, sat down in my chair, and wrote this – I’d much rather have a conversation with you, but for now, this will have to do.