My research experience has been fulfilling and rewarding in terms of it being an intellectual challenge. I work essentially a full 40 hours every week, and it seems there is always something to prepare for, an experiment to set up/run, papers to read, meetings to be had, and of course, mice needing quite of bit of attention to make sure they are happy and healthy. As someone who works in the immune engineering space in a biomedical engineering lab, a lot of attention is paid to the science of what we are doing, and that is one of my favorite parts of this experience.
So many wonderful scientific dialogues emerge daily in our lab, and it is truly a privilege to not only hear the exciting ideas lab members have, but also be at a point now where I can truly contribute to these conversations. I am lucky to be a member of an undergraduate (allo-/auto- immunity) journal club within my lab, so I get to present my work in a low-stakes setting, hear what the other lovely undergrads are up to, and read up on a variety of research areas.
It has also dawned on me that I am a woman, who is now conducting pregnancy research, which I feel is a unique experience from my litany of research projects I have contributed to. In a way, it feels easier to relate to and dig deeper into than other areas I have studied. All this to say, I am exhausted and enthralled and I am going to miss this when the program ends.