For my practicum project, I worked in the Vascular Kinetics lab, located in the Clark Hall under the supervision of graduate tsudent and Ph.D candidate Callie Weber. The goal of my research this semester was to understand how increasing insulin levels changes primary vs. iPSC brain microvascular endothelial cell (BMEC) metabolism, and how exercise alters circulating insulin levels to alter BMEC metabolism. A typical day generally involved me coming in around 8:00 AM to treat the cells that I grew to confluency over the weekend with a certain dosage of insulin depending on what my supervisor Callie decided we would be testing that week. I would seed the cells in a plate(s) in separate wells depending on the treatment group, and after applying the insulin, I would place my plates in the incubator and let them sit in there to allow for any reactions with the cells to occur while I am out for a couple classes. I then come back later in the day to complete the second part of my experiment which generally involves adding primary antibodies and letting the plates sit in shaker machine the cold room overnight before applying the secondary antibodies the next day, and leaving those on the shaker not in the cold room for a couple hours in order to prep my cells for a Western Blot. After I ran the Western Blot, I then would analyze the data that I collected, and also run a plate of the same cells in the YSI machine to compare what I’m seeing in the Western Blot data with the data from the YSI machine to see if they match. My experiments were usually like this how I would begin one part of the experiment and work on it over the course of the next few days until I had data that I could analyze by the end of the week. I generally did not have an experiment that could be completed all in a single day. By observing others and the environment around me, problems I faced usually were simple mistakes because I was confused by the instructions of the experimental protocol I was following. This usually could be fixed if I just asked Callie before doing something that I shouldn’t be doing, or after the fact to see if my experiment was still salvageable. Usually my experiments are prepped with extra samples, so if I mess up one sample, I still have some that I can continue the experiment with. One scientific concept that I saw in lab which reflected what I had learned in colloquium was the scientific process, specifically that the scientific process was a loop/cycle. Our lab has an overarching purpose of research, and each lab member can choose their own specified course of research to further understand the intricacies of the overall lab inquiry. I gained a deeper understanding and respect for the work that researchers do that contributes to how physicians are able to treat patients. This experience has furthered my interest in becoming a medical doctor because it is so exciting to see how human cells react i various environments, and that directly translates to medicinal work in that I can take the symptoms of a patient, and make a determination as to what is the best course of action that would make them healthy again or even prevent them from becoming unhealthy. I had the opportunity of developing very useful lab skills and sometimes manual dexterity. If I had the opportunity to “prepare” for my research, I don’t think I would have done it. I enjoyed the way I went into this experience with, well, no experience. It forced me to learn through observing my superisor Callie as well as through trial and error. In the future, I plan on staying in the Vascular Kinetic Lab to continue research and eventually hopefully being able to do my own experiments based on my own inquiry. Not only will this work help make me a more competitive applicant for med school, but more importantly, I will gain invaluable knowledge through my research that I believe will do nothing but help me succeed in med school. I would highly recommend this opportunity to any SGC students interested in pursuing their first research position and if they are on a premed track like me. We are in the bioengineering department, so there are many smart engineers here to help guid you in your work, and there are other pre-med students as well as a current med student who can give advice as well if that is the track you are interested in. The connections I have in this lab I believe are very valuable to me for what I want to pursue as a career, and the people in lab are all lovely in that we all like helping each other.