MENTORSHIP CONTENTS Sponsoring Firms Previous Projects Student Testimonials Blackboard The following is what some of the students from the Class of 2001 (SY 2000-01) had to say about their experiences in the Biotechnology Laboratory's Mentorship program. Lisa An I think biotech mentorship was a very fun experience. I was so glad I got to take a part in a real-world research experience before college. I really learned a lot about how to conduct experiments in a professional lab setting. I would recommend it to other high school students to take advantage of this opportunity. Erwin Gianchandani "Mentorship was an exciting experience for me. When I first started working at TIGR during the summer, I was nervous yet intrigued; I wanted to make sure that I didn't make any mistakes, yet I wanted to get a hands-on experience of what everyone else was doing. It took a couple of weeks of getting used to the new environment, but I settled down and enjoyed working on my project with the assistance of my mentor and his staff. And, by the time mentorship wrapped up six months later, I was somewhat disheartened at the idea of having to go back to attending classes.My project was to re-identify the genes of gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. I was able to verify previous gene classifications, and I found at least 100 or so new genes." Brenda Goguen I worked at George Mason University under the supervision of Dr. Patrick M. Gillevet. My mentorship through Thomas Jefferson was the most fulfilling experience I have had in high school. In addition to learning from my mentor and other researchers at the lab, I learned through my own experimentation and test failures. I was able to conduct research independently and especially enjoyed the freedom involved in the program. The mentorship allowed me to use technology beyond what is available in the classroom and has even provided me with opportunities for the future. My project "The Molecular Characterization of Potential Fish Pathogens in Waters Where Reported Pfiesteria piscicida Outbreaks Have Occurred" involved techniques including DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction, and DNA fingerprinting. Meredith Lowe "My first week of mentorship was exhausting! There was so much to learn and remember! I was constantly learning new techniques and procedures. It was worth it, though. During my last week of mentorship, I looked around the lab to count the number of machines I had used, and I'd used almost every single one of them! The scientists at the FDA were very nice. The purpose of my project was to determine the role of one of the nonstructural proteins (NS4B) in dengue virus replication. It seemed like a very complicated project, but it was easier to understand when I broke it up into smaller experiments. In the end, I found that the NS4B protein is essential for virus replication." Adrienne So Working in the lab was completely different than working in the back of the DNA Science classroom. My particular project involved a complicated two-day long procedure, closeted in a tiny, windowless lab with three other researchers and too much equipment. When my results came back, I was always worried that I might have made a minor mistake in one of the many steps of the protocol that would skew the results and affect the future of a cancer patient across the hall. Sometimes I'd have no results at all, which was incredibly frustrating, because I only had a certain amount of time to finish, and made me feel as if I had wasted a lot of effort. Yet, the responsibility, and the knowledge that I was doing something that no one else had done before, was pretty exhilarating. Mentorship was often maddening, but on the whole I think the experience was worth it. Grace Wan Throughout high school, there are few things that students truly come to appreciate in their academic pursuits. One of them, for me, will be my mentorship experience. I was able to work in a laboratory with incredibly intelligent people in the field of pharmacology. Although I found it intimidating at first, everyone was extremely helpful and willing to guide me. I conducted research at a graduate student level and gained a great deal of confidence in myself. I came to understand many advanced concepts and became skilled in using high-tech lab equipment. I was thankful for this opportunity; and although it was a lot of work, and it took up a great deal of time, there's really no value a person can put on what one can gain from this mentorship experience.