Wrapping Up The Year

The second semester of my work at the lab is coming to a close, and so I feel like a sort of "wrapping up" might be wanted. However, this time point is more of a construction of my academic life and doesn't really affect my experience at the lab so much. The experiments are year-round, and we are in the middle of preparing participants for the next round of an inpatient/outpatient cycle. I'll continue working as usual in the summer (I might take a little bit of a break so that I can live full-time in the library during finals). In the summer, I will be spending a bit more time in the lab, probably around 4-5 days of the week, while balancing a few other jobs around the city (managing a department at WKCR, doing some music research, tutoring, and receptionist job). With all of this extra time, I hope I can take on a more in-depth project at the lab, maybe something that will occupy me for most of the summer. Maybe this can range from something like reorganizing the lab (which seems menial, but is actually really crucial to making everything more efficient and functional around here), to updating the mass of data that needs to be input into our computers. There is also the possibility of lending a hand in some of the neighboring labs, especially those that do a lot of TSSTs (see my post a bit below to learn about the thrilling experience of making participants feel very awkward...for science!). The cocaine lab is also doing a bit of work with rats and fMRIs I believe, which would be a great chance to learn a few more skill sets over the summer. I think I even heard that the lab is a bit more relaxed over the summer in terms of running experimental cycles. This gives the researchers a bit of a break to maintain records and analyze data. I'll do what I can to lend a hand in these things, so I hope this will be a productive and busy summer.

As my academic year comes to a close, the lab keeps running as usual, churning out more data for the researchers to include in their analysis. I loved the opportunity to balance these two worlds, and as my school life constantly changes, I feel like my own experience of the lab changes with it. I learned a ton about neuroscience and drugs over the last year in my classes, and that has drastically changed my understanding of the lab and of the topics that we are dealing with. Next year, I hope my experience in Biology, Physics, and Organic Chemistry can continue to shift my perspective, leading me deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of drug research.