SURE Stories: 'It feels great to be in a program that takes such great care of students'

 

During this summer, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work on glioblastoma cancer cells, specifically focusing on discovering more effective cures. This experience has opened me up to a range of different lab techniques, some of which I’ve worked with in the past, and some of which are completely new to me. Being so young, my future still has so many questions that are yet to be answered. Learning more about myself and the experiences of being in a new lab really helps with working through complex problems, even if they don’t relate to research at all.

 

Working with Dr. Gasper Kitange, his lab has allowed me to mix some of my passions with each other: the brain and research. Working with glioblastoma, a disease that I have learned about in my classes, I have been able to take a deeper dive into everything related to glioblastoma. Considering that I want to get an MD or an MD/PhD in the future, this information is vital to everything that I hope my future to be, no matter which path I end up taking.

 

 

Adding onto that last point, Dr. Kitange has been amazing in answering all of my questions about my future and helping point me to the right path. Learning about his own experience traveling around the world for his degrees has given him lots of valuable experiences and interesting information. It feels much more personal to hear information about these programs from someone who has actually gone through them, not just reading information from a website. When we aren’t talking about research or school, Dr. Kitange knows many random facts, so he always has a witty joke about everything! Just being around him makes my day instantly better and boosts my confidence.

 

Inside the lab, I’ve had many opportunities to be more independent with my research. Being in a smaller lab setting, just me, Junita (PACE student), and Josephine (Post-doc), this has allowed me to work on my project a lot. Instead of having to work behind someone, I get to do all the steps of the process, from growing the cells to running qPCRs. I have learned and become proficient at many skills, such as immunofluorescence, cell culturing, RT-qPCR, western blots (many western blots), plating, and the confocal microscope, just to name a few. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, my future plans are still very open, besides the fact that my ultimate goal is to become a neurosurgeon. There are many different routes to get to that goal, and some form of research is bound to be included. These skills that I have learned can not only go on my resume, but be a stepping stone towards my future career. No matter where I go, the skills of problem solving, data analysis, and working with a team can be applied. 

 

Since I was already working in a different lab at UMN-Twin Cities during the school year (Thank you to Karen Mesce and her leeches), I came in with some previous lab experience and also some training completed. This allowed me to go right into the lab work the first week and already get important results by week 2. Although not everyone has this experience, it helped to smooth my transition into the lab and allowed me to focus more on the content behind the research and stress less about the many different procedures I was learning. 

 

Knowing that Dr. Kitange respects me and has high expectations for me over these 10 weeks, it puts a little extra pressure on me to get meaningful results and learn from both them and his teachings. But that extra pressure and desire to be a great researcher has pushed me to enjoy work and everything that comes along with it. Learning more about both the research and the people that I have been working with has truly been beneficial to me, shaping my identity and who I hope to become. 

 

Although I still have more time to do research, a lot of that time will be spent crafting my poster and finalizing my results. It feels great to be in a program that takes such great care of students, helping to push them not just to be researchers, but to be great people and well-rounded individuals. From day one to now, I have enjoyed coming to work due to my peers around me, my fellow researchers, and the work that I have been able to work on. I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible and pushed me to not settle for mediocrity, but to go up and beyond during this program. That mindset has helped me get a lot of useful results and help not just myself, but also the University of Minnesota and my lab.

 

Note: Cayden was connected to the SURE program through the College of Biological Sciences Dean's Research Program. His funding for the SURE program came from the Dean's Research Program.