Hello,
My name is Anastasia Carr and I am a rising junior at George Washington University where I study biomedical engineering. I was fortunate enough to be one of four students chosen as a Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Reasearch Scholar here at George Washington. As a CBL Research Scholar, I will be keeping a blog to document my experience as a young woman in research.
During my first month of research, I have realized how much preparation it takes before an experiment can be conducted, let alone the time it takes to gather results. Recently, I have been spending much of my time reading academic papers on my topic of interest, the transient outward potassium channel (Ito). Despite this not being the most exciting start to my project, it has been a necessary step for me to fully understand the science behind what I am doing.
I have also realized that there are plenty of unanswered questions that accompany research. For my whole educational career, rarely have I been given a question that does not have an answer. Yet in the short month I have been doing research, I am faced with questions every day. I have learned quickly that achieving a definite answer in science is extremely difficult. I do not find this discouraging though, but rather exciting. Realizing that I may be able to help piece together the answer to an unknown question motivates me to put forth my best effort.
This past week I was able to physically start my experiment. I am already learning how precise one must be when carrying out an experiment since there is so much room for error to occur. In the coming months, I look forward to gaining independence in the lab as I continue to conduct experiments. Be sure to check this blog to read about the experiences my fellow CBL Research Scholars and I have as we conduct our research during the next year!
Best,
Anastasia