Rachel Joo, a rising senior at Lawrence University, spent her summer at UW–Madison for the Biological Interactions Summer Research Program organized by WISCIENCE. During this ten-week program, Rachel got hands-on research experience in the Otegui Lab while also practicing her scientific communication skills, learning about research careers, and participating in other professional development activities. Of course, she also had time to make new friends and explore all that Madison has to offer in the summer. I met up with her in the lab to hear more about her experience.
So to start, could you tell me a little bit about yourself?
I’m Rachel, I attend Lawrence University and I’m majoring in biology. A fun fact about myself is that I play the cello and the piano.
What led you to apply for this program?
I was looking for a program that had a diverse range of science topics that I could explore. And I have a big passion for science, but I also like to step outside my comfort zone at times and kind of explore new things. So back in school, I would always be studying, you know, human biology and cells and all that fun stuff. But here, I found out that they also had plant science included on their list, and I was like, oh, I don’t really have that a lot in my school, so I wanted to look into it more. And I know that UW-Madison has a lot of research resources and a lot of equipment that we don’t normally have at our school. So coming here is like a really new experience because I get to use all these tools and have these people around me that I didn’t know prior, and they’ve been really helpful. That’s why I applied.
And what’s your experience been like so far?
It’s honestly been very nice. I love my mentor. I love my PI. They have always been very encouraging, and they really help try to dig deeper into science topics that we’re all passionate about, and really try to have these conversations on a day-to-day basis. So they’ll sit next to me, they’ll talk about the work that I’m doing, and they also help me side by side whenever I need help with lab techniques. So it’s been great, and I’ve also met a lot of like-minded students here who are really into science, and so being able to have normal conversations and talk about all these science topics is so cool to me.
And what kind of research have you been doing? What’s your project about?
So my research is focusing on mutated ESCRT proteins. They’re Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport. It’s a very long name, but they’re basically these proteins that are important in the growth and development of these Arabidopsis thaliana plants that I’m working with. So we’re seeing what would happen if there’s some sort of edit in the gene and how that would affect its phenotype.
What’s one of the most interesting things you’ve learned in this program so far?
I’d say the most interesting thing that I’ve learned is what I’ve learned about myself. I’ve seen myself grow in a number of ways, and that includes being able to ask really important or really interesting scientific questions. When I’m in class, it’s very different because I’m listening to a lecture and sometimes it goes past my head. But this time, because I’m doing the hands-on work, I’m really able to see the results for myself, and also be able to ask why I get those results. And not only being able to ask myself those questions but also my mentor, my PI, and then getting that insight from them has been really interesting.
And you said you’ve done some research before?
Yes, I have. I did it at Lawrence last summer, actually. I worked with my mentor, who’s also a botany professor. But our research was a little different because we worked with different plants. And we were just studying phenotypic characteristics because we didn’t have the tools to look into the DNA and the cell. And we would need really advanced equipment for that, which we have right now.
Do you have other research interests? Do you think you’re going to continue with what you’ve done here?
So my plan—because I’m going into my senior year at Lawrence and I have to do a senior project—I think I might actually end up continuing this because I’ve been able to do the hands-on work for myself, so I know the protocols and how to do things. But also kind of explore, because I want to look into other environmental factors that could affect these plants with the mutations and see how they react to that. And I think I can alter those conditions in the lab or maybe even grow them outside in a garden setting and see how that would work. So I’m really interested in continuing this research.
What excites you about research in general?
I think in general, first off, it’s me being able to ask questions but also answer them through hands-on experience. Also being able to do something that I’m truly passionate about and not have any restrictions around me is really important. So I feel most comfortable in a lab setting because I can just kind of make the mistakes and learn from them. I won’t have many people around me judging me for those mistakes—I can actually learn from them and maybe make new discoveries when I make those errors.
What do you want to do going forward? Do you have plans after graduation? Are you still figuring that out?
I am still figuring it out. I do kind of want to take a gap year, but do another research internship, because I do want to explore other topics in science. I mean, now that I’ve done two years of plant science research, I do also want to see, oh, do I want to continue doing plant science, or do I want to gauge my interest in something else in the field? Looking into that and then doing grad school after that. So that’s probably my plan.
Has there been anything surprising or unexpected in this program?
Unexpected? Well, something that’s unexpected is that I’ve never been around a lot of students who really, really love science. It’s either they hate it or they like it, or it’s something kind of in between. But here, because everyone really loves talking about the projects that they’re working on, it makes the experience more exciting. So it’s not ever a boring experience. You know, it’s a learning experience for all of us, and not just for us being in the lab…we learn from each other. And so, you know, being able to see people present their presentations in the first few weeks and also the papers that they’ve been writing, seeing that progress and how we all have developed in the lab is really important.
How do you think your experience here will impact your goals for the future?
I would say that my research in the plant sciences has been really important to me because I know that in my family, they’ve always wanted me to become like a doctor or some person in the medical field, which has not really been part of my passion. And so I like being able to think a little bit differently from what my family wants me to become, and also being able to take this research and maybe help. Because my goal is actually to help or do research in Third World countries and kind of see how extreme conditions have affected agriculture there. So being able to turn that research into something more beneficial for a bigger population is really important to me. I want to help people out, that’s my goal, but it doesn’t always have to be in the medical field sense. It can also be like through the science research sense.
Do you have any takeaways from this program that you’re going to be able to use right away in doing research or back at school?
I would say organization. Organization is definitely key. I feel that there are days when I’ve felt under the weather a little bit, and I come into lab and I’m like, man, I have to do this again, but then I make mistakes and then I get frustrated at myself. But it’s all about being organized and being patient. Because results aren’t going to come in one day, you’re going to end up making mistakes and you’re going to have to learn from them. So I feel like these 10 weeks have definitely taught me how to be more patient with myself and to see things from a different angle if things don’t work out. My mentors always encouraged me to kind of first off find the problem and then before you try to solve it by yourself, really analyze it and do that carefully before moving forward. So taking baby steps.
Is there something you would want to tell other students who are considering applying for this program?
I would say that it’s honestly for anyone who really loves science. Like, when I came here, I didn’t realize that there would be so many people with different interests. I thought, you know, it would just be students who wanted to go into the medical field or students who wanted to do cell biology. But no, regardless of what your project is, it’ll still end up being really interesting and very useful in the future. You may not think about it in the moment, but once you do the experiment, I’ve learned that it can definitely make an impact on someone’s future.
Have you had a chance to go out and explore Madison while you’re here?
Yes, I have. My friends and I really love hanging out on the Terrace. We’ve been to almost all the shops on State Street. It’s very different from where my school is, so I definitely appreciate the change of environment. But I feel like we’ve had a lot of fun. I feel like we’ve gotten to explore many parts of it fast. We also went to a water park a few weeks ago, so that was really nice.
Good. It’s not all just looking at microscopes in the lab.
Exactly. You have your free time to kind of let things go. We got to do a lot of things in the ten weeks that we were here.
Do you feel like you’ve made friends with people? Do you think you’re gonna keep in touch with folks?
Yeah, absolutely. I think we’ve already made plans for them to come to New York City, because I’m from New York City. And so they said that it’d be nice to go to museums or even a science museum, because they have good science museums in New York City. Or like Washington, D.C., where some of my friends are from. So going there, exploring the area, and just chatting about how things have been going. Yeah, it’s going to be fun.
Is there anything else that you wanted to share before we wrap up?
Not really, but I’d say that I had a really fun time. It’s been great. I think that this will be an experience that I will not forget in terms of science research. It’s been one of the best.