Meet Ayushi Patel ’23, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and minoring in English.
What is the focus of your research?
My main research focus is based in genetics and science in general. Right now, I’m working with Drosophila melanogaster to understand how female meiosis and these additional B chromosomes are passed down through generations, and the implications this has, in the Hanlon Laboratory. I’ll be working on my senior honors thesis in the laboratory as well.
Previously, I worked with the Korey Stringer Institute to understand how high school heat policies affect the students within those schools, Dr. Kent Holsinger’s lab in EEB as a research assistant, and most recently at Hartford Hospital to analyze patients with overactive bladder and learn which treatments worked most effectively under Dr. Tulikangas.
Why did you get involved in research?
I initially got involved in research to check off a box for myself, and just to say that I was a part of a lab. I knew research would be interesting, but didn’t realize how much I would love it. Through the last three years, I realized there’s much more to research than meets the eye. At first, everything seemed to make no sense and I was overwhelmed. As I began to do research within my major, and tying the things I was doing every day to information I had learned in classes, the pieces came together. I learned that research is a unique way to make a connection to the things we learn in school and help broaden your understanding of complicated subjects. Now, I just can’t imagine not being involved in some type of research and trying to answer a large-picture question.
What advice would you give to aspiring student researchers?
Do your own research before jumping into research. Comb through the different labs and opportunities, pinpoint what subjects interest you, and don’t send a hundred generic emails to every professor in the department. They talk to each other and can probably discern when someone is looking to check another box off for their resume. Instead, schedule meetings to talk with professors first, read (or at least try to read – these can be very confusing) their publications, and find some questions for them. Research is not a competition, and it’s unique to each person who goes into the field. Take your time finding a subject and mentor since it will be well worth the wait.
Describe the impact your research experiences have had on you.
The research I started out doing is nothing like what I’m doing now. In my first position, I was an assistant to a graduate student and just weighed samples for her, took measurements, and before we started any real work, we got sent home due to the pandemic. I then started virtual research, which was interesting, but not related to my major and was more related to data entry and learning some of those skills. When I got a position in my current laboratory, I was so ecstatic that I forgot to be nervous. Once I started working, the only emotion I felt was nervous. I had such little confidence in my skills and ability because I hadn’t been able to do wet-lab research in such a long time. However, like everything else, there was a huge growth curve in this position. I learned to have confidence in myself and my abilities. When some subjects became confusing or difficult, I figured out how to tackle them instead of doubting myself. And with everything in life, I became better over time. I now know exactly what it feels like to be confused, nervous, and doubting yourself, but I also know what it feels like to overcome that and be on the other side.
What is your greatest accomplishment so far?
I’ve collected data that, as my primary investigator calls it, no one else in the world knows. I documented some numbers and showed her, and she was so happy and I could not figure out why, until she said that these numbers are a part of my study, something that no one else has done before, and that me and her are the only ones that know this information. I was so confused but also so proud of myself at the same time. As a student, we’re basically just learning information that a million other people also know, so this was the first time that I was learning about something that no one else knew. Additionally, that data will be published in my very first paper soon! I’m pretty excited to share it with the rest of the world.
Click here for more information on Ayushi and other OUR Peer Research Ambassadors.