My name is Aly Sebold, and I am a rising junior studying Neuroscience and Sociology at Tulane. This summer, I will be working as a scientific volunteer at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. As a scientific volunteer, I will be shadowing Dr. Lyon and his associates, learning and observing different laboratory practices and techniques, and will be responsible for choosing a specific area of his work to study and help practice. Although this position is unpaid, the learning opportunities I will be given are truly priceless, and I am very thankful for the NCI grant which will help to alleviate my transportation costs.
I have a few goals for the summer:
- Apply the laboratory skills I have gained in my undergraduate coursework and learn new procedures to positively contribute to Dr. Lyon’s lab.
- Gain an understanding of what a career in research will look like to help me decide if I would like to pursue a Ph.D. or take a different route, such as medical school.
- Take full advantage of the learning opportunities I am being given, including access to textbooks and the ability to attend seminars, to learn as much as I can about molecular biology, genetics and N-linked acetylation this summer.
- Gain experience working and collaborating with others in a laboratory setting.
- Enhance my critical thinking and problem solving skills.
I will be learning a tremendous amount about how a laboratory is run, how to take initiative and how to vocalize my questions and opinions, even when I am unsure of them. In doing so, am being prepared for future leadership roles in science, which aligns with Newcomb College Institute’s mission of educating undergraduate women for leadership in the 21st century. The way males and females look at the world will ultimately differ, due to different experiences and upbringings. It is essential for female perspectives and ideas to be vocalized in the scientific world, a world that creates all sorts of life changing technologies and services to benefit humanity, as they make up half the population. As a female scientific volunteer, I am helping to bridge the gap between men and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematical fields.
To prepare for this internship, I am doing a lot of reading about genetics and molecular biology, and going over all of Dr. Lyons papers so I have a sturdy background in what is being studied and will be able to formulate my own questions about the mechanisms of Ogden Syndrome.
I am so excited to begin putting what I have learned in my two years of college to use, and can’t wait to see what the summer has in store.