STEP Experience

Before beginning this summer project, I thought of research experience as being working like a technician and following established protocols to get results. Over the course of the summer, I came to understand that the whole process includes adaptability as well as creative problem solving too. Although everything made sense theoretically, Science was often humbling when the experiments “didn’t work”.

I also learnt to give myself grace, be patient and persistent. Early in the project, unexpected experimental setbacks challenged my confidence and even made me doubt my technical skills. I was also embarrassed to keep asking my peers for guidance all the time. However, after learning to consult literature, I was able to troubleshoot independently, and seek broad feedback from other grad students in the lab. The whole experience made me trust my abilities more and be more confident in presenting my thoughts and expertise.

The first significant experience for me was developing seven protocols from scratch. I was practically unfamiliar with bacterial culturing, buffer preparation, genetic engineering or protein purification; I only had learnt about these techniques vaguely in classes. I had to do a lot of literature review to finalize these protocols for everyone in the lab. Reading so many scientific documents was no easy feat. They were very long and confusing but I persisted through the compilation and gained a deep intrinsic understanding of the protocols, steps and potential troubleshooting areas to look out for.

The second was while I was expressing my designed fusion protein for the first time. Integrating all of the above into a coherent pipeline for my protein was daunting. I learned that protocols are unfortunately subject to constant revision as new data, conditions, or challenges arise; there is no one protocol fits all. It took multiple expression trials (39 to be precise) to balance solubility, yield, and purity. In my first attempt, my protein didn’t even express although I did everything right by the book. However, by adjusting expression strains, induction conditions, and temperature, I was able to improve solubility and recovery. This process taught me that failure in research is not final it is simply an early step toward optimization.

Interactions with my research mentor and lab members also shaped my growth. They encouraged me to think beyond following instructions and to ask why each step in a protocol existed. This deepened my conceptual understanding of protein biochemistry and molecular design. The experience also made me feel less hesitant to ask for help when I needed it and in saying “I don’t know” when I didn’t truly know the answer to something. I learnt to become more comfortable with presenting my ideas to different individuals and revising based on constructive criticism.

This transformation is valuable because it has shifted the way I approach challenges. I now see obstacles as opportunities for refinement rather than as signs of failure. The embarrassment is pretty much gone, and has been replaced by “let’s try this another way”. This mindset will serve me well in my future career in biomedical research and, eventually, in the biotechnology industry, where innovation depends on resilience and adaptability.

Academically, the skills I developed (from experimental design to protein purification) directly strengthen my preparation for graduate-level research and my long-term goal of contributing to personalized medicine. Personally, I have grown more confident in my ability to lead a project from conception to execution. Professionally, I am very proud to say, I have learned to think like a scientist; not just a student following instructions from a manual.

Here’s an awkward picture of me in a fancy colored lab coat working with a very very smelly chemical (beta-mercaptoethanol) and holding my breath: