Christopher Wu

Background

 

During my time at Carolina, I have participated in numerous research projects in two primary labs, including the Shazly Lab and Jabbarzadeh Lab in the Mechanical and Biomedical/Chemical Engineering Departments, respectively. I joined the Shazly lab as an extension of my senior design project, the investigation of the coating microstructure of drug-coated balloons and its relations to drug transfer. I joined the Jabbarzadeh lab the fall semester of my sophomore year, due to my interests in stem cells and regenerative medicine. Collaborating with the primary investigator, Dr. Ehsan Jabbarzadeh, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate student, in the lab has been one of the most influential aspects of my undergraduate career. While I have come a long way in terms of developing scientific inquiries and methods from when I was first introduced into the research field, I have seen several unique and universal issues in the field of research.

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Problem Definition

 

A significant problem I have seen in the scientific community especially with newer researchers is that there is a lack of knowledge in formulating scientific inquiries and methodology and effective techniques. An underlying issue may be that researchers may not be sure what they can or cannot do in their specific lab. In my first year of joining the Jabbarzadeh lab, I was cautious in the various experiments I can perform in the lab and the “correct” scientific method. Though there are several online forums that provide suggestions, these are often not structured or are perhaps even contradictory. From talking to my peers in research and having participated in two separate research labs, I know the research environment can vary drastically between labs. I can see how this may pose a significant problem for newer researchers to any group. To my knowledge, there is no standardization criteria/procedure for incoming researchers.

 

During my undergraduate research and academic experience, I gained valuable insights into how crucial time, development of unique solutions, and learning from past experience is to the success of any research project; I have highlighted the process of how these insights came about in my key insights titled “Valuing Time,” “Changing Perspectives,” and “Overcoming Failure.” Though I gained these insights during my research the Jabbarzadeh and Shazly Labs and in my classes, namely CHEM 333, BMEN 211, and BMEN 290, the process of learning was often a slow and counterintuitive process; I believe my progress in the research project would have advanced much quicker if there were a structured guide that would promote the formation of these insights especially within the lab. Because many research areas in the biomedical field involve time-sensitive experiments, time-efficiency is extremely important; one of the time-sensitive aspects with cell biology research is due to the proliferation or growth rate of cells, where there is a tight time-window the appropriate cell number is reached and thus experiments must be performed. To optimize this, I had to learn to plan and run experiments concurrently.

 

Problem Solution

 

To aid newer researchers in laboratory and scientific techniques, I will design a digital guide with the following sections

 

1. Introduction to the laboratory and research group

2. Basic scientific inquiries and suggestions

3. Effective collaboration

4. Basic scientific techniques (Biology and Chemistry)

 

Implementation

 

The digital guide will serve as a standard procedure for all labs especially those which regularly acquire new researchers. Perhaps, the implementation of this digital guide can be followed by a certification which encourages younger researchers to join their lab. Different lab groups differ in the types of researchers that they tend to hire. Some labs hire only experienced researchers, such as postdoctoral fellows or PhD candidates, while others tend to hire less experienced researchers, such as undergraduate or masters students; this guide will be more geared to the labs that fit in the latter category.

 

Significance

 

This project has the potential to significantly alter the lab environment and research-professor relationship. Instead of worrying about attempting to fit into the lab environment and finding ways to successfully develop a mutual relationship with the professor, the researcher can focus on performing experiments and obtaining data. Overall, this digital guide will expedite the integration of the researcher in the research group. Furthermore, the digital guide provides a means of standardization for all research lab; it provides the best questions that the researcher can ask the professor and vice versa. If the researcher moves to a new lab, he/she is able to follow the “standard protocol” for lab integration as have been done in the previous lab. This will have significant outcomes on the scientific and medical community. Many of my peers have been deterred research due to bad research experiences, most of which are caused by disorganization. The standardization that this guide provides will encourage more students to be involved in research and ultimately provide more researchers to society.