Longwood Biology has strongly integrated professional laboratory practice and etiquette into their curricula. In addition to an academic lab setting, many instructors have opted to synthesize these assignments with a more formal research lab setting, functioning as a PI and introducing quality control aspects and puzzle-solving skills. In this section I will be reflecting on my experiences in this regard.

Document A is a piece of work from a research showcase that I worked on with others in order to formally present. During the virtual showcase we outlined the processes we used in the lab and outlined the importance of the information we learned. Although BIOL 250 was a very introductory course, the showcase experience was important in learning how research is presented and how it can be beneficial to showcase lab processes that aren’t inherently following an experimental structure. Sometimes it can be good to just show people what your lab is completing. To view this poster, please see Document A below.

Document B was a presentation that showcased a real case-study diagnosis project I worked on closely with my group members. In this project I did work that worked with cytologic data that resembles what I would be working with in a clinical immunology lab, something I will likely do in my further studies as a medical laboratory scientist. It excited me to conduct this work, and the puzzle-solving that went into analyzing the data we received was strongly incorporated with our understanding of immune pathways to come to a result. It closely resembled the work that I want to use to help real patients in the near future. To view a formal showcase of our work, please view Document B in the section below.

When working on Document C, my professor Dr. Melissa Rhoten of Longwood Chemistry had the hare-brained scheme to have our laboratory experience structured in a way that we worked as a cohesive professional lab unit reflecting the structure she has experienced in her professional lab positions. As a functioning PI, she supervised our application of lecture coursework to achieve several goals, such as nitrate sourcing, measurement, experimental structure and order of reactions, and allowed us the freedom to make important choices in comparison of results, literature, and encouraged us to share data. The collaborative experience was very exciting, and I truly enjoyed working as a team of five with my classmates. I hope my future laboratory positions are as engaging! To view the fruits of our labor, please see Document C in the section below.

As a quick aside, I’d love to fill this section with more about my INOVA experience. In the coming year, I will open a new page arrangement that directly addresses my experiences learning about the medical laboratory field and outlining what I’ll learn on my rotations. For now, please enjoy what I’ve learned throughout my undergraduate experience thus far!