Olivia Wing ’24, Biology Major, shares about their internship in The Parrish Lab at the UW Seattle Campus
“Hi everyone! My name is Olivia Wing, and I am a class of 2024 biology major. This summer I am working in The Parrish Lab at the UW Seattle campus as a visiting research intern, a developmental invertebrate neurobiology lab which primarily researches the functions of sensory neurons in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. My project focuses on the peripheral nervous system in the larvae of the yellow-fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, and I am working with my principal investigator and a postdoctoral mentor to learn more about this relatively-unstudied organism. This internship has given me the opportunity to learn so many useful and fascinating techniques, such as immunostaining, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and statistical programming with R. The first of these allows me to “color” specific neurons in a tissue by staining it with specially-manufactured antibodies. The second allows me to take detailed, 3D images of these neurons so I can determine their shape and structure. And the third is instrumental in turning my data from numbers into conclusions.
And there are some skills I didn’t expect to learn, but have nonetheless clarified for me exactly how much work (and failure) goes into just one published paper. My mentors are helping me learn how to pivot. How to ask the right questions, and what to do when I find an answer, or lack thereof. Much of my work is self-motivated, and it is up to me which direction this project goes, at least during my time this summer. At first I was intimidated by this level of responsibility because I expected that I would be assigned all the tedious tasks that usually come with the title of “intern”. It turns out that I get to do
both! I spend my days hatching mosquito larvae, dissecting them, staining them, imaging them, and then processing those images. At the same time, I read published research about the mosquito and fly nervous systems, and comb through the genome sequencing data my lab has on file to determine which genetic markers could help me determine the function of the neurons embedded in the larval body wall. After having worked in the Parrish Lab for almost two months, I feel more confident and comfortable in my role. I’ve started to learn the quirks of this little insect, and I am grateful I can spend my summer diving deep into something so fascinating (and I am a whole lot less afraid of bugs). In setting up this internship, I was excited to experience a lab environment outside of the classroom, and
begin to understand what kind of landscape awaited me after graduating. The chance to talk to my coworkers about their paths to research has given me a lot of perspective, and helped me understand
more about my potential career. I’ve learned that it’s ok not to go directly into graduate school after finishing your bachelor’s degree, and that working in your chosen field is not only good for your grad school application, but also would let me see exactly what I would be signing up for. Hearing my lab-mates’ stories and watching them talk about their research – seeing their passion, dedication, and instinctive collaboration only reinvigorated my desire to join the scientific community after graduating. I just haven’t quite decided how, yet.”