Icho Lu is a senior majoring in Biology. She was awarded a Fall 2019 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on liver lipid homeostasis under Dr. David Pallas.
There, I did it ---- I titled my blog post “on research”, intentionally after Stephen King’s autobiography On Writing (would 8/10 recommend, two stars off because it is indeed, way, way too long). As I typed down this sentence onto a blank Google Doc, I pictured King sneezing in confusion. You are probably confused too (hopefully not sneezing though): what similarities can research and Stephen King thrillers POSSIBLY bear? As a matter of fact, looking back on the two and a half years of research experience I have had in the Pallas lab, I could confidently say yes, research and horror stories are unbelievably alike.
I started in Dr. Pallas’ lab in the first semester of freshman year. The thing is, we all start research by thinking we are going to cure cancer or win the Nobel Prize. We are as innocent as Mike Enslin who walks into Room 1408 with confidence, firmly believing that he is different from all the previous guests and will survive past the one-hour limit. I was no different. When I was introduced to my current project to investigate the role of leucine carboxyl methyltransferase-1 (LCMT-1) in liver lipid homeostasis, I didn’t even have a vague idea of how to conduct research. There, I first learned basic lab techniques such as PCR and western blot, then proceeded on to utilize these tools to investigate my own projects, to think like a real researcher by designing experiments, forming hypotheses, and most importantly, correcting and adjusting research plans as my project proceed. However, the journey was not at all smooth-sailing as I delved deeper and deeper into the field. Rather, it was a jolly concoction of failure, anger, doubt, and even tears. In the first feeding study I conducted along with my team, the results showed elevated levels of alanine transferase in wild-type mice, which we had not expected. The datasheet looked no less than a nightmare without any sensible explanation while I struggled to understand what has happened. After an in-depth discussion with Dr. Pallas, we postulated that the effects may be due to a homozygous inactivation of an unknown gene at the site where the driver protein albumin-cre integrates. Based on this suggestion, we went on to perform a second feeding study using heterozygous Alb-cre mice instead of the homozygous Alb-cre mice in the first study. The feeding period of the second study has just finished, and the results showed discrepancies when compared to that of the first feeding study. I am currently in the process of conducting biochemical assay experiments to further analyze samples obtained from both studies. 
Throughout the duration of my research experience, I keep thinking about and redefining the meaning of scientific research. For me, research is hours and hours transferring tiny amounts of fluids from one small tube to another small tube; it is a pile of failed, “smiling” western blots but each getting better than the previous one; it is plating hepatoblasts and whispering motivational words to them wishing they would stay alive for a couple more days so time-lapse data can look nice; it is doing a flow cytometry experiment that ended up lasting 18 hours and walking out of the lab at 6 am while waving hellos to incoming janitors ready to start a new day’s work. Most of the time, research is like a room escape game in a room with no windows or doors but somehow still having blind faith that eventually, we’ll be able to find a way to light up that unknown space and a clear path out. After two and a half years of researching, I have learned that nothing about being a researcher comes easily because you are faced with the biggest fear of humankind every single day: the unknown. It is no less scary than being a protagonist in a Stephen King novel as he/she fights spirits/ghosts/serial killers/serial-killer-turned-ghosts. He/She might either succeed or die, just like a researcher can either fail or succeed in examining his/her hypothesis. However, at the end of the day, a good researcher still stands up to face his/her failures (or demons!) bravely and continue his/her work in the dark, enclosed room. It is the existence of these fabulous human beings that ensures the development of technology and the progress of humankind, so hats off to all the researchers out there with my sincerest gratitude and respect. I hope someday I will be one of them.
Overall, I must say that I am as grateful for the research experiences I have had in the Pallas lab as I am for the existence of Stephen King novels. Maybe one day I’ll write a bestseller thriller about a young researcher working in a biochemistry lab. You’ll never know.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
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