Kaeberlein Lab

When I arrived at UW, one of the last things I wanted to do was do research. The idea of being stuck in a sterile lab clicking away at data and tables was the complete opposite of what I wanted to do with medicine. But was my freshman and sophomore years went by and my understanding of research and medicine began to mature, I started to recognize that doing research was an important, indeed perhaps necessary, experience for someone who wanted to go into medicine. So, I began to search and apply to various labs and positions, and ultimately landed a position on the yeast dissection team of the Kaeberlein lab in the Department of Pathology.

This position had quite a number of important perks. For one, the skill set required was easy to pick up, the hours were very flexible, and the lab itself was very large, giving me access to a wide range of mentors and support. My own personal duties were at first very basic: as a yeast dissector, my duties were to take petri dishes covered with carefully organized yeast colonies, separate and count daughter cells, and ultimately tally up the number of new cells. It wasn't as exciting of work as I would have liked, but fortunately this served as the gateway to more interesting experiences. The veteran researchers were always open for help, and eventually I was helping manage data, setting up new colonies, filling up agar plates, and all sorts of other responsibilities. By the end, I had gathered a great deal of laboratory experience and skill that I probably would never have gotten outside of a lab. More importantly, the lab gave me the opportunity to present at the undergraduate research symposium, something I would never have imagined doing when I first entered college.

Ultimately though, the most important thing I learned through the lab was actually an affirmation of a previous belief: I could not see myself working in a wet lab as part of a career. While I definitely had a deeper appreciation for the work of researchers, I definitely did not feel the same level of excitement and passion I felt interacting with patients. Fortunately, this research experience did open me up to the possibilities of clinical research: at the moment, I'm a clinical research assistant, a position I got in large part due to my previous research experience at the Kaeberlein Lab. While I don't know how much more of my life I'll spend in a wet lab, I know that the skills I gained for being a part of the dissection team will serve me throughout my life in medicine.