Philip Chu is a senior who majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. He was awarded a Fall 2018 Independent Grant which he used to conduct research on Renal Cell Cancer under Dr. John Petros.
Medicine heals people, but research is what advances medicine. The reason I’ve done
research throughout my undergraduate experience is because I want to constantly contribute to the advancement of medicine. What motivates me in lab is the thought that every experiment is potentially a step closer in benefiting innumerable lives. I view medicine as the present, and research as the future.
I am currently working in the lab of Dr. John Petros, Professor and Associate Chair of
Research at Emory University. I’ve worked in his lab since my junior year. During my junior
year, I investigated a novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the SETD2 gene, and how it contributes to the heritable susceptibility of developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Throughout this semester, I isolated and purified DNA from samples of buffy coat and tissue.
After isolation/purification, I quantified each sample using the Qubit Assay. The samples were then loaded onto 96-well plates and sent for ancestry genotyping. Everything seemed so simple. I completed an experiment, and then I received data. I followed the protocol, and I yielded expected results. Even though the work was slightly mundane, I loved it. I was motivated to go into lab every day because each experiment was a potential step closer in benefiting people at risk of RCC. I felt like I was making a difference.
During my senior year, after we found a correlation between the targeted SNP and the
susceptibility of developing RCC, my mentor wanted to design a new experiment. She wanted to create SETD2 knockout cells using CRISPR/Cas9. Neither of us were very familiar with the technique. After doing countless readings, we decided to begin our experiment. I was finally faced with the reality of research. For an entire month, nothing seemed to work. Our cells were dying. Our bacteria wouldn’t grow. The guides RNAs were designed incorrectly. I reminded myself that this was a new experiment, and that we’ll run into problems. Nothing seemed to work the next month either. At this point, I started to lose my motivation. I was frustrated that we weren’t getting results even after repeating experiments. I remember coming to lab one weekend and running the same PCR reaction four times before giving up. I started to take longer lunch breaks and focused on things outside of research. I didn’t have the same enthusiasm of going to lab anymore.
I also started making more mistakes in lab because my mind was elsewhere. At this
point, my mentor started to notice. She reminded me that research is a process of trial and error. We just sat in her office and chatted for an hour. I was reminded why I enjoyed research so much. I promised her that I would stay persistent. I regained focus and took precautionary steps (such as writing down every detail and double-checking my work). With persistence, we successfully transfected our first cells this past week. Research is a process of trial and error, and I’m now prepared and excited to embrace every aspect.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
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