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Warwick Medical School

Xuan's internship: Balasubramanian Lab, University of Warwick

Xuan in lab

Xuan is currently in her second year on our MSci Integrated Natural Sciences degree. During the summer after her first year she took part in an internship in the Balasubramanian Lab at Warwick, studying cytokinesis in fission yeast. Here, she tells us more about her experience.

Xuan
Tell us about your placement and what attracted you to it

I’ve spent my placement in the Balasubramanian lab looking at what allows for faithful cytokinesis in fission yeast, which involved looking at how myosin coiled coil regions and membrane protein Bgs1 might be involved in the tethering of Myo2 to the membrane to assist in cytokinesis.

I was attracted to the idea of getting more hands on experience in an actual lab and exploring a different field of biology I hadn’t had a lot of exposure to.

What was the first thing you did as part of the placement?

After settling in, the first thing I did was familiarise myself with the project and what would be required of me; then I moved onto trying a few simple molecular biology processes like PCR and gel electrophoresis before attempting some techniques new and unfamiliar to me.

What have you learned as part of the placement?

A lot which I think might not be able to encapsulate in a few sentences! Aside from the knowledge aspect, which came from learning about the project and its background, I’ve learnt a lot of lab skills and built on ones I had before. I’ve also learnt a lot about how to troubleshoot and how to think more scientifically: a lot of unexpected things can arise during the actual carrying out of the protocol which needs to be adapted to.

Have you enjoyed any experiences outside of the labs?

While a lot of time was spent in labs, I also enjoyed the seminars and talks that were occasionally held by internal and guest speakers. There were also a few casual meals and people would bring in snacks; everyone in the lab is super friendly and sociable!

What have you enjoyed most?

I’d have to say the work environment and how casual and welcoming it is, but also getting to work with the spinning disc confocal microscopes. The eduWOSMs we get to use for the INS course are brilliant, but I really appreciate the level of imaging we can do with the confocals.

How do you think the experience helped you?
I think the experience really helped me to gain confidence with different lab skills and techniques, as well as encouraging me to approach practical work with more of a flexible mindset for when potential issues arise.
Has this changed the way you think about future options?

I’d always been more interested in something more set in academic research rather than industrial for the ability to be more flexible. I think this experience really helped highlight what academic research is like and I’d say it’s shifted me more in that direction.

Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about summer placements?

Start looking earlier in the year when there’s still more options available, but look for a placement you think you’ll enjoy. It’ll be a lot more gratifying when you enjoy the work you’re doing and are genuinely interested in the lab’s work.

What are your plans after you graduate?

Since I’m only just about to start my second year, I’m currently trying to keep options open and explore different fields of science to see what else I might really enjoy, but I have started considering academic research a bit more seriously as an option.

Teresa Massam-Wu, Lab Manager, worked with Xuan and says: "Xuan is an exceptional undergraduate student and has been an invaluable member of the team. Whilst gaining crucial experience in research planning, investigation, data collection and analysis, Xuan has accelerated and successfully delivered research work at a competency expected at postgraduate level. Xuan will always be welcome back in the lab to continue to build on her research experience whenever she can find time during her undergraduate programme."