The practicum portion of the College Park Scholars SGC program was an excellent opportunity for me to introduce myself to the world of research. I was able to secure a position at the Fischell Department of Bioengineering in Dr. John Fisher’s Tissue Engineering Laboratory. When I decided that I wanted to pursue a research-based practicum, I looked up all the Fischell Department’s researchers and looked for professors who may have research interests similar to mine. I am very interested in tissue engineering, so when I came across Dr. Fisher’s Tissue Engineering Laboratory, I, with great excitement, wrote to Dr. Fisher regarding my interest in working in his lab. He asked that I provide a cover letter and resume so that he can relay my request to his graduate students who are conducting research projects. My current supervisor, Robert Choe, then reached out to me and offered me a position working with him on a project on 3D printable scaffolds for cartilage regeneration. In searching for a research-based practicum project, I highly recommend reaching out to University researchers to others as well. Many of the professors on campus, as well as their graduate students, are equally excited to bring in and train young minds as well. If one professor says no, do not be dissuaded from reaching out to others. Some professors may simply have a satisfactory number of undergraduates already enlisted in the lab.
Upon entering the lab, my number of responsibilities was more limited as I was going through the training process. I began working on culturing and maintaining cells, mainly human mesenchymal stem cells, running experiments to assess the porosity, acidity, and degradation of scaffolds, and maintaining laboratory equipment. Gradually, my role in the project began increasing to include bigger responsibilities such as 3D printing scaffolds on the Envisiontec Bioplotter, functionalizing and inducing differentiation on the interface scaffolds, and running PCR to assess osteogenic differentiation on the interface scaffolds. Furthermore, my laboratory repertoire has expanded tremendously, as I have been able to learn advanced immunohistochemistry and microscope imaging techniques throughout my sophomore year. However, the most valuable experience from the past year of research was the extensive collaboration with my graduate student in developing his project idea. I gained a lot from observing how targeted literature searches are conducted and research hypotheses are formulated. I came to understand and appreciate the meticulousness of the scientific process. The collaboration with fellow researchers, delayed gratification after long painstaking experiments, and ultimately the dedication to answer the research question was exciting and made a significant impression on me.
My practicum project was truly and eye-opening experience for me. When I first enrolled at UMCP, I had my mind set on becoming a medical doctor and performing surgery. Now that I have been working in a research-based environment, I want my plans for the future, both short and long term, to include research. Having enjoyed my experience with Robert Choe and Dr. John Fisher so much, I decided to stay in the lab and continue my work with a research project of my own. This would be a project determining optimum scaffold qualities, such as material stiffness and surface treatment, for in vivo use of regenerative bone scaffolds and accommodation to the many nuances of the immune system. I have also sought out other research opportunities to supplement my research understanding and skillset. As a result, I have also been offered a NIH fellowship for the summer of 2021 to work in an immunology lab at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Long term, I hope to be able to incorporate biomedical research in my career in medicine. This could perhaps result in me working to earn an MD-PHD to be able to operate and laboratory and conduct research alongside my responsibilities as a medical doctor.