By Erik Choi, Peer Research Ambassador

Being an undergraduate student researcher requires dedication and commitment, so it’s natural for people around you to question what you spend your time doing.

How many times have you been faced with the question, “what do you research?” or asked to tell someone about your research? These can be daunting questions. Do you give them the full-length response just to witness the puzzlement on their face as they get lost in the jargon of your research? Or do you give them an oversimplification that doesn’t do justice to the nuances of your work? It’s a tough conundrum that illustrates how research can be a double-edged sword: its incredible versatility gives it interdisciplinary breadth that simultaneously makes it difficult for an individual to be an expert in all areas of research.

The ability to talk about your research in a succinct but informative way is an integral part of being an undergraduate researcher. This is where the research elevator pitch is important. Your research elevator pitch should be a 30-second to 2-minute debrief of your work that encompasses the workings and importance of your research. It explains what you study and contextualizes its greater relevance to others outside of your niche. It doesn’t need to be memorized; in fact, you should be ready to tailor your pitch to your audience. It is more so a general blueprint you can follow when you need to talk about your research. Continue reading →

By Paul Isaac, Peer Research Ambassador

If you’ve been to the OUR website and are reading this blog post right now, you’ll probably realize that we have a LOT of resources aimed at helping students get into labs and explaining how to reach out to faculty, but what actually happens once you actually get into a lab? In truth, your first week of research will likely be stressful, disorienting, and will heavily influence your enjoyment and connection to the research you’re pursuing.

To this end, I’d like to offer some tips to help you make the most of that critical first week. That being said, as a biological researcher most of these tips best apply to biology and STEM labs, but many of them should be universal to any field of research. Continue reading →

By Anabelle Bergstrom, Peer Research Ambassador

As I write this, it is the first few weeks of 2023. With a new year comes new plans, new experiences, and of course, New Year’s Resolutions.

It seems like no matter where you are or who you talk to this time of year, there are constant reminders to set goals for the next 365 days. Like many of you, I am a massive planner and love setting goals. I also love taking advantage of any opportunity that is put before me. I am constantly bombarded with new opportunities and research ideas that I just can’t seem to shake. What is the deadline for this opportunity? How can I fit that into my schedule? If I just push myself a little bit more this semester, I can fit all these opportunities in and make my goals a reality! Continue reading →

By Stephanie Schofield, Peer Research Ambassador

As a child, I grew up listening to the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” in which a stealthy Hare mocks a Tortoise for thinking they could beat the Hare in a race. Yet, the Hare becomes so burnt out that he falls asleep mid-race, and the Tortoise ultimately wins.

We are all greedy for experiences, one way or another, our “race” being what dreams we hold for after completing our degrees. Some of us, stressing over the 7% acceptance rates of medical, dental, or genetic counseling programs, feel an anxious drive to pile on as many extracurriculars as we can. If you’re anything like me, you sometimes have compulsive desires to take on extra commitments that will make you more “competitive” to jobs or graduate schools. Some of us are so nervous about not getting into our dream job or graduate school that we frantically join every relevant club, research project, or job that we can to beat the increasing competitiveness of the post-college world. Continue reading →

By Alexandra Goldhamer, Peer Research Ambassador

For pre-medical and pre-professional students there is pressure to pursue a predefined path and check certain boxes to appear as the ideal candidate. Following these presumed requirements with a lack of passion will not facilitate an environment that is conducive to a college experience that allows for exploration of your interests and the sculpture of your unique, creative path.

While I became involved in research because I was truly interested, I did enter college with the notion that getting involved in undergraduate research was something that I was “supposed” to do to be a competitive applicant for post-graduate opportunities. I became involved in research in the Physiology and Neurobiology (PNB) Department where I study the neural underpinnings of obesity and anxiety. While I enjoy my research in molecular neurobiology, I felt as though I had additional passions that remained unexplored. Continue reading →

By Alex Clonan, Peer Research Ambassador

Getting started in undergraduate research can be an overwhelming (but exciting!) process. You are learning how to answer scientific questions, meeting new people, and gaining background knowledge on an entirely new field!

While all of these are exciting ventures, it’s important to remember that you are still a student, and you have to take care of yourself.

During my time as an undergraduate researcher, I have found that one of the biggest challenges in getting acclimated is time management and burnout. I struggled with it over my years in research, and have known many peers who have as well.

However, it’s important to realize that research can take different forms and time management has a learning curve. Continue reading →

By Michelle Antony, Peer Research Ambassador

Research can be overwhelming when there is a never-ending list of tasks to complete, it conflicts with your other commitments, and when navigating through dense information that can be difficult to understand. It can also be underwhelming, leaving you feeling bored and unsatisfied if it is not going the way you planned, you are uninterested in the work being done, and you are not given a lot of responsibility. When participating in undergraduate research, it is important to find a healthy medium of being “whelmed” where you feel challenged and productive but not frantic or disappointed. Here are some tips that have helped me stay “whelmed” during my research experiences: Continue reading →

By Anabelle Bergstrom, Peer Research Ambassador

Research is often advertised as being an aspect of the college experience that is geared towards STEM majors. You spend hours in a lab, dissecting animals, and writing detailed mathematical reports on your findings. You suit up in your lab coat, safety goggles, and closed-toes shoes to look at different molecules under a microscope. Did you know there is another world in research, one world that exists in your dorm room, or at your state’s legislative building, or through conversations with your peers?

Many students are surprised to know that social sciences and humanities majors can participate in research just like their STEM peers. These opportunities may not be as visible as those pertaining to biology, but I can tell you from experience they do exist. You just have to know where to look. Continue reading →

By Paul Isaac, Peer Research Ambassador

Most research articles that you’ll read in Nature or Science will come across as immaculately performed. The data will look amazing, every test and statistical analysis appears carefully orchestrated to elucidate a meaningful result. However, what doesn’t come across is the extensive string of trial and error involved with actually completing these projects and fleshing out the research questions they aim to answer.

Mistakes, setbacks, and failures are natural parts of life and are just as naturally occurring in the lab. As you begin to get involved with research, you’ll inevitable hit your first roadblocks: accidentally pipetting the wrong reagent and messing up an assay, getting results that are the exact opposite of what you were expecting, and the dreaded experience of performing statistical analysis only to be met by non-significant results. During these moments, it’s easy to feel like you’re not “good enough” for research, that your hypotheses were fundamentally wrong, or that your research has hit a dead end. But, just like Rocky said, “It’s not about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” If anything, good researchers aren’t defined by how good they are at getting their questions and results “right” the first time, but how well they can correct, pivot, and investigate their mistakes.

While the Rocky quote might help with your mood, what can you do when you experience setbacks in research? While I can’t provide you with an exhaustive list, I can provide you with some approaches that have worked for me throughout my research journey. Continue reading →

By Erik Choi, Peer Research Ambassador

As with many things, the key to becoming a better researcher is practice. Reading more peer-reviewed publications, repeatedly attempting a difficult technique in the lab, scouring through Stack Exchange; these are all effective ways to hone your skills, but it can feel repetitive at times. Constantly being surrounded by the same area of research can feel exhausting and mundane.

One of the best ways to become a better researcher is to pause your own work and hear from other researchers. Learning from other researchers provides a valuable opportunity to learn about relevant topics and techniques from experts in their field. Research in fields of study adjacent to or outside of your field of study has the added benefit of contextualizing your work, showing how your research is interconnected with other areas of research.

For students who are looking for research opportunities, this can be a fantastic foray into research. Presentations and events often gather faculty and graduate students with a variety of research interests and provide a conducive environment for networking. Continue reading →