Erin Jimenez and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

I am participating in an undergraduate research program in the Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Under the guidance of Dr. Robyn Johnston in Dr. Dave Jackson's Lab, I will be studying the mechanisms that determine phyllotaxy in abphyl1 and abphyl2, maize mutants. In addition, I will further define the position of the abphyl2 gene by positional cloning. My project is very different compared to what I study in The Koehler Lab at UCLA. However,the challenge of learning something new and mastering more techniques excites me. 

CSHL is beautiful! I have never been anywhere as serene and natural as CSHL. The people are amiable and the students in the program are making my experience memorable. I recently submitted an abstract about my research and presented a formal talk to my peers. I am having an awesome time at CSHL!

Thank you MARC!

Erin A. Jimenez

New York, New York

I am conducting research at Rockefeller University through the HHMI EXROP and am associated with their SURF program. The name of the PI and my lab mentor are Dr. Cori Bargmann and Dr. Dirk Albrecht. We are housed in no clear department that I know (I think there are no departments at rockefeller). I arrived in the city June 13 and my thoughts thus far are quite varied. 

The first thing I noticed when I got here were that people were a bit more aggressive. Something about their mannerisms and the way they speak is just more confrontational. I suppose it is understandable considering that take risks every day crossing the street. Since I have gotten here I have sadly not yet interacted with any undergraduates. Since I started late I haven't met any of the people in my program and have mainly spoken to people in my lab, mainly my PI and lab mentor. The main reason I probably haven't interacted with anyone is I am housed in a single room in the upper east side of manhattan called the 92st Y. 

That said the buildings the food and my lab are great. I have been just amazed by the wonderful architecture and I have a great view from my apartment building. I have also had the occasion to roam the streets of new york and try various eateries. As for my lab it seems to be an interesting problem. Although it is on something completely different than I am used to it is really nice to try and address another behavioral issue. Rockefeller itself is also quite nice in that it is extremely well funded and absolutely beautiful. 

My hope is tomorrow I will get the chance to meet some people in my program and figure something to do other than walk around and eat. 

-Ryan Dosumu-Johnson

Beginning Research

I’m conducting research for the REU summer research program for 2008. The name of my lab mentors are Dr. Jorge Ortiz and Debora Figueroa . We are housed in the El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico. The project I’m working on involves evaluating the quality of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in two tropical streams that receive water waste treatment plant (WWTP) effluent. We are trying to see how the quality of the carbon changes after the addition of effluent so that we can determine the effects of urbanization on the trophic structure of the river systems. I arrived in the city on June 6th, at 5:00 pm. My first impression of the city was that it was hot and humid, and the people spoke very much like Cubans, which made me feel at home. All the other students in the program are from all over the U.S. and from Puerto Rico. They are very nice, cool people and we are becoming fast friends. I begin my field research on monday (the 16th) and I'm very excited! -- Maylen Perez

MARC Students Begin Summer Research

(From left to right: Chloe Rivera, Ryan Dosumu Johnson, Maylen Perez, Alberto Ponce, Carolina Mendez)

Summer Programs for Undergraduate Research offer students outstanding academic potential the opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors on research projects. The programs are designed for students who wish to learn more about the graduate school experience and possibly pursue an academic career in teaching and research. Opportunities are available in virtually all academic fields (e.g., life sciences, health sciences, physical sciences, etc.). Each student participant will be working with a faculty mentor with special expertise and interests matched, as closely as possible, to the student's research interests and career goals. Students will either assist the faculty member in an ongoing research project or work collaboratively with the mentor in designing a new project of mutual interest.