Hey, I'm Nishant, and I'm currently (as of fall 2006) a senior at Monta Vista High in Cupertino. In school, I'm an officer of the Biology and Math & Science clubs, as well as the captain of the quiz bowl team. In my spare time, I love to listen to random rock/indie bands and classical music, and play said music on the guitar, piano, or viola (to varying degrees of aptitude). I also love to read and teach myself math or science topics and computer languages. (Go ahead, call me a nerd.)

I've held a fascination for biology ever since my kindergarten days of chasing insects in my backyard. Before this internship, I had worked in some labs and I wanted to do something similar again this summer, so, long story short, I applied to MSI. It was everything I had imagined it to be and then some! I felt right at home working in a lab again; we were given a surprising amount of freedom in how we carried out our experiment. All of the scientists I met here are awesome people, always willing to help out with a lab procedure, understanding a concept, or just life in general! And I could not ask for better labmates than the other faces you see on this web page. From the beginning we were like a family, and we've all become close friends with each other and with the scientists at MSI since then.

Our project involved mutation, expression, and purification of several yeast proteins (check out our lovely powerpoint presentation for further explanation), and Leonore and Pia gave us a lot of responsibility and freedom in how we carried out the experiment. ( i.e., free rein on the dry ice and liquid nitrogen! =D) For me, the most fulfilling part of the internship was being able to apply stuff I had learned in AP Bio class or on my own to a real research problem, and have my knowledge actually be confirmed experimentally. I admit, though, that things didn't always work so well, and it was somewhat frustrating when part of the experiment failed due to a procedure error (I was supposed to add WHAT to that DNA sample?!) and we had to re-run an agarose gel (or two, or three...), but that's science, and you quickly learn how to troubleshoot and solve those kinds of problems. It makes it all the more thrilling when you do things right finally get the result you want.

To prospective interns: If you have never worked in a lab before, don't worry! You will surprise yourself with your capacity to learn, and everyone here is incredibly friendly and willing to help you. Be sure to ask lots of questions, and don't be afraid to make mistakes (as long as you learn from them =P).

I my name is Ana. I'm from San Mateo county. I graduated in 2006 from Notre Dame Highschool Belmont. I am currently going to school at UC Riverside and my major is Biology.

My summer at MSI just tons of fun! I really did learn a lot. The people I met, both my own age and those older than myself really did make the experience enjoyable. As I said at the beginning of the summer "We will all be one huge big happy family". Well I guess I was right. I miss seeing everone early in the morning and I miss doing labs with Nishant, Vi, Jenny, and Kenny. If you want to learn a ton about lab work apply for this internship. Trust me labs in college can be, lets just say challenging and my experience and MSI really helped. I taught me skills that my other classmates do not know. For example never and I mean never pour a solution back into a container after withdrawing it! Yes to my horror, I seen that many times in my Chemistry labs and yes I just about freak out each time I see it!! You also learn a lot about yourself. For instance, I learned that I am one of the most stubborn people I know, which can be good and bad at the same time. I might also be a little impatient. Did I learn patience? Maybe, but I really did learn that sometimes you can't speed things up too much because you end up make mistakes.

MSI provided me with a great foundation for entering college and for being a Biology amjor. The labs where challenging, but Tonya was always there to help out and so was anyone else you could flag down. Hard work gets you a long way. Trust me! At first I felt out of place in a lab where I felt like everyone knew things that I couldn't even comprehend. As time went on, I started to learn the basics and became comfortable with not knowing everything. MY advice to everyone is be open for this new experience, talk, and take advice. Some people may say that scientists don't communicate or can't. Well that is not true at MSI actually it was the complete opposite.

To everyone at MSI: thank you for the most unforgetable summer! Shmoo.

 

Hello, there. I am Kenneth Lyons, Jr. of Oakland, California. In the academic year of 2006-2007 I will be a senior at Phillips Exeter Academy (a boarding school in New Hampshire). I usually spend my time reading (Science-Fiction or Comics), tinkering with technology, or playing with Legos (one in never too old). My "mission" this summer was to mutate the yeast protein Ste(rile)7 into an inactive form.

I know I want to be a scientist/engineer, but my problem is, what type of scientist/engineer? I initially had a bias against Biology compared to Chemistry, and Physics. This was the primary reason for me applying for the internship was to get a better feel for Biology than just the freshman year of it I took. After the internship, my decision about which science was made a lot harder yet easier. Our field trips to UCSF and Chiron/Novartis really opened up my eyes to how you can integrate many types of sciences into one job. Mol-Sci was even an example in itself! So I could potentially mix and match the different flavors of science to my liking.

The internship at Mol-Sci was easily my most fun experience, ever, hands down. Without a doubt, I would have done the work for free (well maybe for a batch of cookies). Through the experience I found that I loved lab work, and even had a knack for it. I can proudly say I have 'good hands'. This doesn't mean that I didn't make mistakes. In fact, mistakes were another aspect of the internship. Whenever you perform experiments at school, it usually works, if it doesn't then your teacher gives you the answer anyway. But when you 'Boldly go where no man has gone before" you have to be prepared to accept that there maybe foul-ups along the way. Trust me they come from everywhere: miscalculated amounts of something, one shake too many, or exposure to a contaminated environment. The key to dealing with it is knowing that unless there's a fire involved, it can be fixed, and you will most certainly learn from it. I learned that if go slow and take my time, I'd have almost no errors. The fifth part of the scientific method, "share results" was made extremely real. Every week we had to present our work that we'd done during the week. This meant sitting down and showing your P.I. what went well, what didn't, why, and where you're going to go from this point. Then at the end of the eight-weeks we had to explain all our complicated research to our friends and family. And we had to do it clearly.

The whole eight weeks weren't spent behind a lab bench. I was able to learn a little bit of programming in Python (a computer language). We tried to make dry-ice ice cream. That was a very... interesting and fun experience. The most fun "extracurricular" fun we had at Mol-Sci was, every so often we (the super interns) got a chance to meet the other folks in the lab. We learned so much about being a scientist/mathematician/programmer. Some key pieces I picked up were:
1 Your work is great, but your family is greater.
2 Find out what you don't like.
3 The road my not always go straight to your destination.

So as I said before Mol-Sci was my most fun experience. The science was awesome, but the people really made the experience.

-To Ana, Nishant, Jenny, and Vi, may we be covalently bonded forever.

I'm Jenny. I am a senior (2006-2007 academic year) at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, CA. I play water polo and I am on the swim team. I also play the violin and am the first chair in my school orchestra. I love music (esp. alternative, rock and "indie"- haha Vi/Nishant) and I am generally a fun person to be around.

This past summer was one of the most fun, exciting, and interesting experiences I have ever had. I applied to MSI thinking that I would not make it (always expect the unexpected). I actually finished the application the day it was due (yes I am a procrastinator. C'est la vie.) and I e-mailed it to MSI while I was at school. Luckily later that day I checked my e-mail and realized that my e-mail had bounced! Somehow it all worked out and I ended up mutating yeast cells a couple months later.

The protein I was working with was Fus3, and I was in charge of creating sites of mutation that would render the protein inactive. I had a little experience working in a lab the summer of my sophomore year, but I had worked in a Chemical Engineering lab. I had also had some experience with pipets and other instruments in my Honors and AP Biology classes in school. Working at MSI, however, was a very different experience. Manipulating hardcore enzymes, E.coli cells, and yeast cells was not something I had done on a regular basis.Many many many many many trial and error experiences later, I ended up successfully mutating my protein! It was very empowering finishing our experiments and presenting our information to scientists and family.

Making mutations was only part of the experience I had working at MSI. Everyday held a new experience (Vi had a few more than I did ). We talked to almost everyone around the lab and found out how they had ended up at MSI, why they enjoyed doing what they were doing, and got advice about life in general. We read current science articles. We took field trips- the coolest one was to UCSF where we toured the facilities. We found out about fields in science. I even learned a little bit of programming in Python. As interns, we relished in lunchtime outings,esp. gelato and burritos. We also had some fun outside of the lab- we tried to see Superman in 3D about three times and failed miserably. I still haven't seen it to date!

The people I met was one of the best aspects of the internship. Vi, Nishant, Kenny, Ana, and I were all very close (and still are). We pretty much did everything together starting Day 1. Each one of us had something special to contribute and we learned from each other. I don't want to get all sentimental but we are pretty much family now. We also were close with some other people who work(ed) at MSI. The people I met during my time at MSI are pretty much the coolest people I know. I'm so glad I turned in that application!

I could literally write a book about our summer together and the experiments we completed, but I was told I had to leave room for other people to share.

Hi there. My name is Vi and I hail from the ghettos of San Jose. I am a freshman at Harvard where I am avidly pursuing my interests in science and art. I like painting (acrylics and watercolors) and drawing. I have painted lots of murals in public places in my home town.

 

 

During the internship, Tonya was great source of three things: advice, scientific aid, and CHEESECAKE. Tonya was the liason and occasionally buffer between the interns and Mol-Sci. Whenever we had a new lab proceedure, Tonya took us through the steps carefully. She was also there to help us if we had any unfortunate mishaps, such as spilling mutated yeast on the floor. Tonya was invaluable in helping the interns become acclimated to the rigors of scientific research. She helped us learn to: prepare for weekly “check-in”meetings, taking careful notes, and the final presentation of our research. She was also a excellent help whenever we wanted to go home, but hadn’t run our reactions to completion.All of the interns are eternally greatful to Tonya for her loving care, support…. And cheescake.