My Unfavorable Choice
As a science and technology enthusiast, I've been a long-time subscriber to Popular Science and Scientific American magazines for many years. It had always been one of my ambitions, but I didn't get the chance to participate in medical research until I was in the 10th grade. Tissue engineering research using commercial inkjet printers to print living cells in a "bioink" solution was characterized in an article I saw in Popular Science when I was younger as "Print Me a Pancreas, Please." My interest in tissue engineering was sparked by this experience. After doing a lot of research on tissue engineering, I found that this "organ printing" approach could potentially ease some of the challenges associated with typical tissue engineering approaches, such as the requirement to properly put certain cell types in 3D scaffolds.. Inspiring me to think of ways to enhance the printer's capabilities after seeing it in operation. Due of my intense curiosity, I sought out additional insight from medical researchers at MUSC and Clemson Universities (CU).
Even though I talked with the professor at MUSC and visited his lab a number of times, it was later determined that the printers themselves were housed at the University of Colorado. The researchers at Colorado University didn't respond to nearly 50 emails I sent them as a result, so I called them. As someone who isn't easily discouraged, I reached out to the PI to express my desire to contribute to the study. His lab was open on October 18th, which was the date of my school's Homecoming dance, so he urged me to come over and see what he had in store for me. I agreed to go with him. My pals were surprised when I made the "unpopular" choice of not going to the dance. They didn't understand why I would rather drive 26 hours to meet with a researcher than go to the annual dance and miss out on all the fun. In my opinion, this was the best choice. To get my hands dirty in cutting-edge medical research, I was willing to sacrifice a beautiful undergraduate experience.
Following an initial interview, I was given the opportunity to join the lead investigator's team as a researcher due to his interest in my original CAD drawings ("roadmap to Organ Printing"). As a result of my time off from school, I was able to learn a wide range of laboratory techniques, conduct ground-breaking research, and "manufacture" the world's first working 3D branching tube of smooth muscle cells on my own (a rudimentary blood vessel). As a result of my research, I was able to place second in the Medicine and Health category at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair and win the top Florida presenter award at the national Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. Both of these events were sponsored by Intel. Many journals and publications have included my computer-aided designs, including Biomaterials Forum and Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
Life-altering experiences like this one encouraged me on to complete many other academic endeavors, and I consider it a turning point in my personal growth. Because of this, I now have a stronger drive to do research and a stronger desire to pursue a career in medicine, where I may contribute to the development of new treatments or technologies that benefit society. It has been a while since I've done any research, but I'm now confident enough to contact any researcher about the possibility of working in their lab. I've realized through my investigation that students like me have several options to participate in laboratories and investigate answers to current difficulties.
