The Explorers Program has given me this wonderful opportunity to explore Fred Hutch and all that it has to offer. The first couple days of this program was honestly pretty intimidating (as intimidating as entering a workplace where you don't know who anyone is). I think the exact words I texted my friends when I first came here was.
“GUYS HELP I don't know anyone here this is so awkward”
“WHERE AM I????” (this same sentiment was also shared when I went into 1100 Eastlake for the first time later in the week)
These thoughts (thankfully) were quickly swept away by how amazing and wonderful the Explorers community has been, and I became more familiar with this place, with Dr. G encouraged me to wander around the Hutch.
Speaking of wandering, that leads me into my first section!!!!
1. Wandering (legally) through the Hutch!
With the encouragement (and permission) of Dr. G, during my (sometimes) 1 hour long lunch breaks, I wandered through the Hutch (maybe in places I wasn’t supposed to be BUT that's besides the point) and my first interesting sighting was all the numerous beer chat posters posted around the Hutch (although I would never go to one!)
This broke down the perception for me, of Fred Hutch being a scary research institute where I didn't belong, but turning it into a welcoming environment where labs genuinely want to talk to people and make people feel invited (not me to the beer chat though LOL).
My last venture in the Hutch was in the most terrifying building known to man. 1100 Eastlake. This building (3rd floor) was the equivalent of the fictional horror story “The Backrooms”. It was entirely empty and completely clean with no signs of life. I think I was just waiting for a boogeyman to jump out and eat me. This was made worse with me not being able to find the exit, so imagine if you were trapped in a large empty building with no signs of life, with no exits, and no cameras. I think I’ll need a “I SURVIVED EASTLAKE 1100” shirt after this.
2. Science!!!!!!
One of the First labs we visited the second week of explorers was Dr. Barry Stoddard’s Lab and his fancy X-Ray Crystallography machine. This was a really funny coincidence because I was actually talking to someone in Lab about my college schedule and said I took “structural biology” and had no idea what it was about, but Stoddard came and bestowed his structural biology wisdom on our group. I'm going to be honest I didn't really understand most of his presentation but as the great TA Elana Thieme said “I only remember 20% of what I learn in a lecture” (Someone else also could have said this but I think Elana did????). But his story about going to the soviets and sending his protein was really interesting. It also exposed me to how much money Fred Hutch has. I probably saw more money than I'll ever have in 5 lifetimes in that one tour.
The Jihong Bai lab probably was my favorite lab during the tours. It was all about studying how neurons talk to each other and how they have their specific behaviors. I absolutely loved the welcoming environment in that lab, everyone there seemed like a family, but also Dr. Bai made a seemingly uninteresting topic C. Elegan worms seem like the coolest thing in the world. I got to talk with him and Elana lots about the different model organisms that are used in scientific research and what they can teach us. If I had the opportunity to come back to Fred Hutch, this is a lab I definitely would work in and, I think I’ll actually reach out to see if I can join his lab (Lac will be back at the hutch!!!!)
Final Sentiments :(((
For my final sentiments, I would like to thank Dr. G giving me the opportunity to be able to participate in this program and showing me the real impact that the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has. Elana Thieme for teaching me lab procedures, and how to use lab equipment, and telling me funny stories about working with animals in Lab. Arjun Kumar, for being very open about his background, and story and helping with advice to land future opportunities. All of the PI’s who let us visit their lab and have these wonderful experiences. And most importantly, the explorers for creating such an amazing and welcoming environment. I hope this is only the beginning of my journey in sciences and I will get to meet all of you at the Hutch or organizations in the future!
Thank you,
Lac Tran
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