Get Involved in Undergraduate Research

by Michelle Zabat

For a lot of post-undergraduate plans, participating in research during college is a must. But for a lot of students first starting college, research is just that—a necessity. I know that when I began my first year, I didn’t really know what research was, what it entailed, or how to get into it. I just knew that I had to do it.

Now, near the end of my third semester I have almost two full semesters and an entire summer of biology research under my belt. It’s been an amazing experience that I’m excited to continue as I progress throughout my undergraduate career. For those of you who are also interested in getting involved with some extracurricular investigation, here are some tips about and lessons I’ve learned from working in a lab.

1. It doesn’t have to be a lab.

I work in a microbiology lab, which means plenty of pipettes and PCR. However, not all research is bench research. I know plenty of people who take their experiments out into the community, participating in projects for Public Health, Ethnic Studies, and more. I spent this summer transforming bacteria, but one of my friends spent her summer taking pictures of graffiti in downtown Providence as part of a project with an Anthropology professor. Research can take all sorts of forms, so if you don’t think that a wet lab is right for you, there are still plenty of opportunities to explore.

2. Don’t be afraid to reach out.

I was lucky in that I ended up getting a spot in the first lab I expressed interest in, but I have plenty of friends who sent out lots of blind emails to professors who they found out about online. Although a lot of schools have plenty of research opportunities for undergraduates, that doesn’t mean that they’ll be handed out. Don’t be afraid to send out multiple emails, and don’t be disheartened if you don’t get responses to all of them. Professors are incredibly busy people with appallingly full email inboxes, and a nonresponse is not necessarily a reflection of their assessment of your ability.

3. How should you reach out?

Usually, email is a good place to start. Introduce yourself and talk about why you’re interested in the lab. You could include a resume or talk about your qualifications if you’d like, but oftentimes it’s easier to start with asking to come in and talk about the research instead of flat out asking for a position in the lab. Make sure you’ve familiarized yourself with some of the work the lab has done, as well; you can talk about this in your email and use it as a jumping off point for conversation if you can make an appointment to meet with the professor.

4. You might have no idea what you’re doing, and that’s okay.

I didn’t have a chance to do research in high school. I still didn’t know what research was when I started doing it in college. I worked full-time in my lab this summer, and I for a fair amount of the time, I was incredibly confused. The biological processes we were working with were more in-depth than I had experienced in any of my biology classes previously, I was unfamiliar with a lot of the microbiology lab techniques and protocols, and, to top it off, I was working with an undergraduate visiting from another institution who had much more lab experience with me. There were a lot of instances when I felt inadequate, discouraged, and useless. I made mistakes (sometimes more than) my fair share of the time. However, I noticed that as each week went by, I was understanding more and more of what we were doing and becoming more and more confident in my abilities. Now, I’m working on my own project, and although I still reach out for help often, I’m surprised by how far I’ve come.

5. You’ll have access to lots of opportunities and fun!

What I didn’t expect when I started working in my lab was how much fun it would be. Not only are the things we’re doing right up my alley interest-wise, the people that I’m working with are some of the best people I’ve met to date at college. I have a small lab—it’s just two graduate students, a lab assistant, the professor, and me—but we’ve become such good friends and work very well together. That’s something I would take into consideration when choosing to work in a lab; make sure that you enjoy the environment! While research is academically rewarding and good experience for the future, it should also be something you like to do.

Those are just a few of the tips and tricks I’ve learned from my time working in a lab. If you have other questions about how to get involved in research or what it’s like (or just have general questions about Brown), please feel free to reach out to me at Michelle_Zabat@brown.edu.