By Natasha Patel, OUR Peer Research Ambassador
Are you interested in the Health Research Program? Is this program right for you? Is it possible to manage the time and travel commitment? If you are asking these questions, you have come to the right place. As someone who has been a part of the inaugural group of the Health Research Program, I believe I can share insights on how I managed to be successful with research and have a great experience while balancing school and other responsibilities throughout the years.
I applied for the pilot Health Research Program (HRP) the spring semester of 2017. Let me first say that it is okay to apply to however many listed opportunities that you are interested in and no, it doesn’t have to be in your major! I applied to three opportunities, interviewed, and was eventually offered a position in the Kuhn Lab, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the UConn School of Dental Medicine. As a molecular and cell biology major I was excited to start my research on something different like biomaterials and biomedical engineering. In addition, I was so excited to work in a professional environment such as UConn Health as it is a gateway to meeting and connecting with health care professionals.
Spring 2017
My first semester of HRP consisted of enrolling in an independent study to earn MCB credit. Because of the easily accessible shuttle, I was able to travel between Storrs and Farmington on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Since both locations are about an hour apart, I would arrive at Farmington at 9AM and stay until the shuttle came back at 12PM. This gave me about 3 hours to work each of the 2 days, which sufficed at the time as I was just beginning to learn basic lab techniques.
Summer 2017
My first summer with the HRP is when I experienced my first major schedule change. I started working Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM. It was definitely a lot more than what I had been used to, but it allowed me to take on more work and try new techniques and procedures that required longer time to complete or frequent checkups.
2017-18 Academic Year
Transitioning back to research during the academic year was difficult to adjust to as I was going from a full workweek, to 1 day a week. I was lucky to be able to arrange my class schedule into having Thursdays off. I would work 9AM-4PM, which allowed me to finish more tasks and increased my efficiency compared to the “half day twice a week schedule”, as most tasks required a longer time to complete. It also wasted less time traveling and allowed me to focus and conduct a day’s worth of meaningful research with less interruptions and a sense of rushing.
Summer 2018
This past summer I went back to the Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM schedule. What I enjoy most about the HRP is that I am able to get independent study credit throughout the academic year and was able to get a stipend for my first summer. For my second summer, I applied for and received a SURF award, which allowed me to continue my research due to the generous stipend.
Looking back, I can definitely say that over the years, I have met and interacted with so many professionals from different disciplines. I trained with many different PI’s, laboratories and graduate students, making relationships with each encounter. As an aspiring dentist, I have been able to meet faculty of the UConn School of Dental Medicine, as well as practicing dentists and specialists.
I am so grateful to have been a part of the HRP and encourage anyone interested to apply. I can honestly say that being involved has allowed me to gain professional skills, connect with important faculty and strengthen my dental school application. As I go through my senior year I am confident in my ability to graduate and write a meaningful honors thesis because of my research, as well as succeed in professional school.
Being a part of this program is definitely time consuming and one must be ready to take on the commitment and prepare wisely. Here are some things to consider:
- Talk to your PI to get an idea of the things you will be doing during the semester—can it be done in a few hours? Does it require frequent checkups? Will someone be helping me? Can I get something meaningful done with one full day a week?
- Do my academic schedule and requirements allow me to commute to Farmington? Can I have a couple mornings free or dedicate an entire day for research?
- What are my future goals? Will working at UConn Health help me in any way?
- Is this project something I would consider doing throughout my college career?
Please contact me if you have any further questions on the Health Research Program. I would love to continue to share my story!
Natasha is a senior majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology. Click here to learn more about Natasha.