CAT 125 Essay - part 2
This post is part of an on-going series on my CAT 125 project.
Check the introductory post here for more details.
(continuing from part 1)
(to be continued...)
Posts from the CAT 125 Series
- Written Abstract
- Visual Abstract
- Essay part 1
- Essay part 2
- Essay part 3
- Essay part 4
- Essay part 5 (end)
Check the introductory post here for more details.
Rise and Fall – The Journey of a Scientist
or where I see myself in 30 years time
or where I see myself in 30 years time
(continuing from part 1)
The story first began two weeks prior when I started looking for an undergraduate research position in a biomedical research laboratory. My passion to uncover new understandings of the world around us as well as the need to insulate myself from the increasingly religious-fanatic world made a future in research a given. Biomedical research was also the latest “in-thing” for new and aspiring scientists of the new millennium, and I was terribly keen not to miss the boat(load of funding).
Prof Q is a Professor of Biology who studies the Toll signal transduction pathway in the fruit fly. Toll is an important protein involved in the regulation of the innate immune response against microbial infection and ensures the correct formation of the dorsoventral axis in the fly embryo. Prof Q’s research utilizes many fundamental techniques which a newbie to the field (like me) can clearly benefit from. He is also known to be a friendly and responsible leader to his team of researchers. But perhaps more importantly, Prof Q holds an impressive CV that boasts numerous awards, a Harvard-MIT education and directorship for the Center for Molecular Genetics. A research stint in his lab would not only provide me with a wealth of relevant research experience, but tagging his big name to my graduate school applications will also seriously enhance my personal prospects. Following him in his footsteps was the way forward, I thought.
Prof Q had promptly replied to my email request and invited me to his office for an interview the Friday before. I remember being awed by his rapid response and openness to taking bumbling undergraduates into his lab. (Less than half of the professors I contacted bothered responding to my email, and only a handful had vacancies for undergraduates.) During the interview, as Prof Q chatted with me about his research and my interests, I scrutinized his big, heavy-set eyes with their accompanying dark eye bags and deep wrinkles. I could see my future eyes reflected in his. “Toll must have taken a toll on his sleep,” I thought. But before I could get too smug with my own ingenuity, Prof Q promptly handed me the keys to his lab without much ado. I was shocked, to say the least, of the brevity of the exchange and the immense trust he just left in my hands. At long last, I was about to embark on my life-long journey to become a well-respected, omniscient scientist who will change world history with my keen insights into age-old dilemmas. I was on my journey to be a successful scientist, just like Prof Q.
Prof Q is a Professor of Biology who studies the Toll signal transduction pathway in the fruit fly. Toll is an important protein involved in the regulation of the innate immune response against microbial infection and ensures the correct formation of the dorsoventral axis in the fly embryo. Prof Q’s research utilizes many fundamental techniques which a newbie to the field (like me) can clearly benefit from. He is also known to be a friendly and responsible leader to his team of researchers. But perhaps more importantly, Prof Q holds an impressive CV that boasts numerous awards, a Harvard-MIT education and directorship for the Center for Molecular Genetics. A research stint in his lab would not only provide me with a wealth of relevant research experience, but tagging his big name to my graduate school applications will also seriously enhance my personal prospects. Following him in his footsteps was the way forward, I thought.
Prof Q had promptly replied to my email request and invited me to his office for an interview the Friday before. I remember being awed by his rapid response and openness to taking bumbling undergraduates into his lab. (Less than half of the professors I contacted bothered responding to my email, and only a handful had vacancies for undergraduates.) During the interview, as Prof Q chatted with me about his research and my interests, I scrutinized his big, heavy-set eyes with their accompanying dark eye bags and deep wrinkles. I could see my future eyes reflected in his. “Toll must have taken a toll on his sleep,” I thought. But before I could get too smug with my own ingenuity, Prof Q promptly handed me the keys to his lab without much ado. I was shocked, to say the least, of the brevity of the exchange and the immense trust he just left in my hands. At long last, I was about to embark on my life-long journey to become a well-respected, omniscient scientist who will change world history with my keen insights into age-old dilemmas. I was on my journey to be a successful scientist, just like Prof Q.
(to be continued...)
Posts from the CAT 125 Series
- Written Abstract
- Visual Abstract
- Essay part 1
- Essay part 2
- Essay part 3
- Essay part 4
- Essay part 5 (end)
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