The Pathways Explorer program is a blast and a huge amount of fun. Throughout the program, you get to meet many staff members and scientists that are passionate about their work and eager to spread their passion. It didn't feel as if I was thrust into a lab environment where mistakes were scrutinized. It felt like taking a science class with that one laid-back science teacher everyone liked. The priority wasn’t to learn how to perfectly perform an enzyme digest or other experiments, but instead to have fun, explore science pathways, and enjoy wet labs. Throughout my experience, my favorite parts were definitely the lab tours and group activities. The most interesting lab tour was definitely the C Elegin lab tour. During the C Elegin lab, I learned about how these tiny worms were used to study the interconnection and interactions between neurons. Using a very small needle and lots of precision, the scientists are able to attach an electrode in a specific neuron, and by editing a gene, they are able to attach biological markers to the gene so that whenever a transcription factor and other parts of the cell express a gene, these markers will also be expressed. A transcription factor to the promoter of a gene. A transcription factor basically just signals all of the other machinery in the cell that transcribes the DNA to gather at this specific area. Promoters are a sequence of DNA that acts as the get-ready sign for transcription, telling the machinery where to start. Using these biological markers, scientists are able to see when specific neurons are active, and can also see the interconnection and spread of signals between neurons. Another important factor is that the entire neural network of a C elegan has been mapped, which is just crazy to think about. By using the mapped neural network, scientists are able to identify which neurons are related to specific factors and then modify them to have a biological marker. This process allows them to understand how the neurons interact and see what actions the neurons are related to by observing when it is activated. Trying to understand how a brain works is a daunting task, so the C elegan lab just stuck with me because of how interesting and impressive it is to attempt (and succeed) in understanding how a brain really works.
These devices are used to study the activation of the neurons in the C elegans and are kept under a wire mesh to prevent the interference of outside electrical signals.
This poster shows how the biological markers light up the neurons and how different colors can be added to different neurons to differentiate them. The poster shows AFD, which is the neuron responsible for thermal sensing.
By far the best group activity and the most memorable part is for sure the impostorism presentation. Imposter syndrome is when a person feels they are inadequate and unsuccessful even though their actions and life prove they aren’t. These people can then be categorized into 6 types depending on how they act on this feeling. However, what really stuck with me was how everyone was also suffering from this problem. During the activity, I learned a lot about myself. I found out why I was so stubborn and why I acted the way I did, and ways I could overcome these issues. All of the other explorers didn’t judge when I shared my feelings, and it really helped to hear how other people were going through and overcoming these issues. Everyone I met was an amazing person, and there was basically zero judgment all the time. The rooms were always filled with laughter at some random thing that wasn’t actually that funny. Even if you are an introvert, I can guarantee that someone will click with you and that you will start to become a bubbly person too. If I could change one thing, it would be to convince Fred Hutch to make this program 3 weeks instead of 2.