First post, just some background information on what exactly this... "blog"... is really all about!
Basically, I decided I wanted to keep a website with updates on my Undergraduate research projects, and hopefully continue this in the future with my graduate and post-graduate projects. I am a Sophomore at the University of Miami, and I recently became involved in the Undergraduate Research department, and have really fallen in love with what I do. In essence, I want to share my research projects and education and hopefully inspire at least one person, hopefully more, to go into the research field. Although I am personally Pre-Med, I believe that a background in research is vitally important if you want to go into the medical field. By participating in research as a medical professional, you can make an incredible contribution to not just one patient, but to people all over the globe, something that I find incredible. I want to be a part of finding the cures for the diseases I will (hopefully) be diagnosing in the future, not just sitting idly waiting for others to accomplish these feats. I believe every medical professional should be participating, because really who knows debilitating diseases better than the people who are constantly trying to help patients with these diseases every day of their lives? Just my personal opinion.
So what exactly do I do right now? I am part of the team lead by Dr. William Browne, who specializes in invertebrate developmental biology, as one of his Undergraduate students. I am learning basic microscope and lab techniques, and working specifically with the specimen Nematostella vectensis, or the sea anemone. As I continue working on my undergraduate thesis I hope to gain strides in understanding the embryonic neurological development of these creatures.
So far that's it! I'll continue updating every so often with pictures and information. Hope you enjoy!
