Name: Ademayowa Balogun

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: University of Iowa (summer 2013)

Major(s)/Minor(s): Biology

Expected Graduation Year: May 2014

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

This summer I conducted research in microbiology at the University of Iowa. It was my job to determine the localization of a receptor called TIM-1 that plays an important role in Ebola virus infection. Daily, my tasks included maintaining and developing cell lines of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell tissue cultures, transducing them with virus, and monitoring levels of viral transduction via flow cytometry. I also ran many western blots and used confocal microscopy in order to gather more information about the localization of this receptor under various conditions.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I truly enjoyed the research that I conducted and the freedom that I had to try new things. In many instances, I was able to perform my own protocols or use my own ideas in order to further my research. This creative freedom honestly is what led to much of the success of my research this summer, as I had many ideas that ended up working. I think that stimulating the minds of interns is a huge asset to them later, as they can recall instances when problem solving and troubleshooting led to discovery.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

The resources that I had at the University of Iowa were great, which enhanced my research experience greatly. The student mentorship I received was also unique, as I was given free reign over many aspects of my project, while still receiving important instruction.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Be open to doing research. Everyone's experience is different, but if you are sensitive to things going on around you, you will always be able to draw something important out of the internship. Sometimes, you may find that the type of research you are doing is not your favorite, and that is good to know, too. Not every internship is a match made in heaven, but all experiences can teach you something if you are open enough to them.

How do you see your experience as meaningful? This might involve skills you’ve gained, information you’ve learned, mentors you’ve connected with, or projects you’ve completed.

Science research is one of the most difficult career choices, in my opinion, because 90% of the time things don't work as you plan, but I can honestly say that the 10% success outweighs the failure in the end. In the first 8 weeks of my internship, I gained a vast knowledge of my research and learned how to plan and conduct various types of experiments, only to see them fail, one by one. My graduate student and my PI encouraged me, and urged me to keep trying to get some data. They all left for a scientific conference for a week, leaving me to fend for myself in the lab, and with one last idea of an experiment. Suddenly, all of the experiments began to work, and I found myself knee-deep in more research to do and data to gain before they all returned. Although I spent upwards of 12 hours in the laboratory at times, I did not mind because I knew that things were progressing, and there was something to be discovered. In the last 2 weeks of my 10 week internship, I attained 80% of my final project data. The experimental skills and training that I received were great, but the most meaningful part of my experience came from failure, sustained perseverance and then success. I know that graduate school will be very difficult, much like my internship, but I am willing to push past the failures and setbacks because I know that there is purpose behind my actions, and that there will be something to learn if I keep trying.

Please provide a short quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

"Having an internship is an excellent way of developing purpose as an undergraduate, especially in preparing to enter the workforce or graduate school. The experience gives you a good, realistic perspective of potential career paths & is an invaluable experience! I really enjoyed this summer."

- Congratulations on graduating!