Ruben Galindo, Post 3

 Hello everyone,

Sadly my time in San Francisco has come to an end. After 10 weeks of research in Dr. Robert Stroud’s lab, the UCSF summer program has concluded. I can’t say I will miss the dorm facilities nor the commute to lab, but everything else has contributed to a wonderful experience that will be missed. I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to my unforgettable time at UCSF and acknowledge the hard work that my mentors and coordinators have invested into making the UCSF Summer Research Training Program so great. I would also like to thank Amgen for funding my participation in the UCSF SRTP program.  I look forward to returning to UCLA, to continue my research with the confidence, skills and knowledge I have gained this summer.

Thanks to Amgen, I had the pleasure of touring their facilities and learning about the current research this summer. The campus in Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles, is very beautiful and looks like a great place to work.

It is hard to see in this picture, but 5 rats have made a home under the kitchen stove of the USF dorm. From the beginning of the program till the end, they have lived under the stove as terrible dorm mates. They ate people’s food and scared many people.  I can’t say I will miss them.

Roberto Naranjo, Post 3

Hey everyone,

I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to work for one of the best researchers and innovators in the drug/nutrient delivery field.  I am extremely sad though that the summer is over and I have to go back to UCLA. I explored a new field of research and I am happy that I did because I found a new interest of mine. I think this experience sparked my interest of pursuing a drug delivery career and to eventually work in a biotech or pharmaceutical company.  Working in the lab of 200+ people gave me a small taste of what it would be like to work for a small biotech company/start-up. My mentor described it that way. That’s how it felt in the beginning for her when she started.  I tried to enjoy the last couple days in Boston and at MIT so I went around taking pictures of my favorite things on campus.

Best,

Roberto

An art piece of the Periodic Table of Elements in the MIT Chemistry building

Another awesome art piece outside the MIT Chemistry Building

A view of Boston from Cambridge (in front of MIT)

Arielle Tripp, Blog 3

Greeting fellow young scientists,

My summer program was completed a few weeks ago. I am glad to be back home and working in my usual lab at UCLA for the next several weeks for the remainder of summer. I truly enjoyed spending the summer away in another lab. Now that I’ve returned to my usual lab though, I realize how much I missed being able to work and function more independently. Hahaha, it’s rather nice to not have a stranger breathing over your shoulder at regular intervals, checking in to make sure you aren’t lost or haven’t screwed something up. In the future, I will most likely pursue research more closely related to the research I did this summer than to what I usually research. My summer research was in the field of neurosurgery (neuro-oncology), while in contrast, my usual research is in the field of neurology (specifically, neurodegenerative diseases). Although, I’m not terribly fascinated with brain cancer research, I am excited to conduct neurosurgery research related to topics, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and other related brain disorders. Also, in the future I hope to return to work at the Brigham and Women’s hospital where I did my summer research. I loved everything about the hospital and all of the people I met while there.

-Tripp

A glamorous shot of me with a few people from my program in front of the lovely Brigham and Women’s hospital main entrance.

A fun day out on the town with all of the people in my program and our advisers.