Research
Discovery, written so anyone can follow it.
Research has given me the chance to approach science differently than I do in the classroom. Working in the lab has pushed me to be more comfortable with uncertainty, troubleshooting, and questions that do not have an obvious answer, while also showing me how chemistry and biology can be applied to larger problems.
01
BioPACIFIC MIP
Materials Innovation Platform | About 200 hours
After around 200 hours in the lab, research has started to become a very different way for me to think about science. My work with BioPACIFIC involves peptoids, synthetic molecules that mimic the structure of peptides but with greater stability and tunability. Because their properties can be adjusted at the molecular level, peptoids hold promise for applications ranging from drug delivery to advanced materials.
What I enjoy most is that there is not always a known answer. In a class, I usually know that a correct answer exists somewhere. In research, sometimes the first question is whether an idea will work at all. Learning how to troubleshoot, repeat experiments, and think through unexpected results has made me more comfortable with uncertainty. It has also made me much more interested in eventually combining medicine with research.
Field
Materials & synthesis discovery
Subject
Novel peptoid sequences
Skill
Scientific communication
I hold myself to a simple standard in this section: precise enough to earn the trust of researchers, clear enough for everyone else. If a term is unfamiliar, it is explained because the ability to make complex ideas accessible is itself a scientific skill.