The past few weeks have been a lot different from when I first got to Denver. During the first couple of weeks, I spent most of my time getting to know everyone in the lab, learning different techniques, and trying to understand all the projects underway. Now that I've gotten more accustomed to working with everyone, my days have become much more independent and structured. Instead of spending most of my time shadowing someone, I now have my own project and a much better understanding of what I need to accomplish each day.
After spending the first few weeks reading papers and discussing different ideas with Melissa and Amy, I officially finalized my summer research project. My project focuses on understanding the effects of environmental temperature on cardiac aging using rat models. Instead of working with live animals, I'll be using flash-frozen rat heart tissue that was collected from rats that had been housed at different temperatures while they were alive. The goal is to analyze different markers of cardiac aging in the tissue and compare how those markers change depending on the temperature the rats were exposed to. Although there are still many techniques I need to learn, having a defined research question has made it much easier to understand why I'm performing each experiment and how each one contributes to the overall project.
One thing that has really helped me stay organized is our Monday lab meetings. Every Monday morning, everyone in the lab gives a short presentation about the work they completed the previous week. At first I thought it would just be a way to keep everyone updated, but I've realized it does much more than that. Knowing that I'll have to present every week has made me much more purposeful with my time in the lab. Instead of just checking experiments off a list, I make sure I understand why I'm doing them and what the results actually mean. It has also helped me become more comfortable talking about my project and explaining the science behind it.
Outside of the lab, I've continued to explore as much of Colorado as possible during the weekends. I've gone to multiple farmers markets around Denver, each one a little different from the last, and I've also spent time visiting different reservoirs around the area. It's been nice having places to relax after spending the week in the lab. I've also tried a few things that I probably wouldn't have done back home, like rock climbing and hiking. Both were definitely challenging, but they ended up being some of my favorite experiences so far.
Overall, these past few weeks have been a nice balance between learning inside and outside of the lab. As my project continues to develop, I've become more confident working independently and have started to feel like a member of the lab rather than someone who's just learning the ropes. At the same time, I've been able to experience a lot of what Colorado has to offer. Between the research, the people I've met, and the places I've explored, this summer continues to be both challenging and rewarding.