Tai Tumonis

My Intern experience at Fred Hutch

I am so grateful to have been gifted the opportunity to Intern at Fred Hutch. The past two weeks at Fred Hutch have truly been a life changing experience. I applied to the Fred Hutch program mainly because I one day hope to make a difference in the world, and I figured a good first step would be here. I love science, people, and an open environment, and Fred Hutch never failed to deliver on these things through and through.

Some of the first hands on lab work I got to do was HeLa splats.

(Me and Steven using water for target practice before using the HeLa cell solution)

It was really fun, me (kid wearing glasses in foreground) and my lab partner (Steven) got to stain some HeLa cells, break them, and see them under the microscope to look at their chromosomes due to their suspension in metaphase. I feel like this was one of the first defining moments for me in the program, because it's when I first realized “this is something I could possibly do for the rest of my life” (not HeLa splats specifically but lab work and cancer research in general).

Another activity I found to be inspiring was when we learned how Zebrafish are being used to study nerve formation. Cecilia Moens showed us the special properties of Zebrafish via slideshow and then we got to go to one of the labs where they work with them. Me and my group got to see the different developmental stages of Zebrafish under the microscope. 

(Cecilia talking about how the walls of the Zebrafish embryo are oxygen permeable)

Besides the neuron research being done with these fish, one of the most mind-blowing things of all was actually being able to see the tiny heart beating and cells circulating in the baby zebrafish's body under the microscope, and despite how true it was, it all seemed so unreal that something that tiny could be so intricate and alive.

(Zebrafish embryo at day 2 in development)

Fred Hutch not only gave me exposure to a professional field and environment, but a fun social learning experience that I will never forget.  Before getting to tour the labs and listen to the presenters here at Hutch, I never really stopped to consider the innermost workings of our cells. Getting to visualize and learn so much about them whether it was through Zebrafish embryos or Immune System presentations, the Hutch never failed to indulge me in one-of-a-kind learning experiences. To all the people at Fred Hutch who helped make this possible, I thank you. And to all future Intern alumni who may or may not read this, I wish you good luck, and I hope you look forward to your experience at the Hutch.