My summer in the lab: the swift death of my research career

By: Christine Zewe

Louisiana State University, Class of 2013

My summer started off much like most of my veterinary school experiences:  I, eager student, full of enthusiasm, entered unknown territory with a determination to succeed!  I was convinced that my well-researched, expertly designed project was going to make an indelible mark on science and possibly propel me down the path of “super-important science researcher/disease curer.”  Alas, as vet school is wont to do (and with expert precision, I might add), I was humbled.  And when I say humbled, I don’t just mean “knocked down a peg,” or “slightly ego-bruised,” I mean pure, abject failure.  Okay, I hyperbolize, but it felt like it at the time.

Let me back this train up a few stops and fill in some holes.  I applied for and was selected to participate in the Veterinary Summer Scholars program between my first and second years.   I had a great mentor, a great project (gentamicin ototoxicity, whooo!), and I wanted to use the summer as an opportunity to see if a research track was right for me.  Spoiler alert:  it’s not.   HOWEVER, I did learn an unbelievable amount.  I worked with laboratory animals for the first time, and I had to learn all about husbandry, care and use protocols, ethical issues, drug dosages, and rat handling and physical exams.  In an issue unrelated to my project, I also learned a little bit about common skin parasites of rats.  I learned to do literature searches, how to effectively read a journal article (some of them are long and scary), a little pharmacology, a little chemistry, a little neuroscience, and when my rats started dying (my bad), I got some excellent pathology experience.   I had to speak in public, present my material effectively, and be confident in my knowledge.  I learned to seek out experts to answer my questions, who to be nice to, and who has the best school gossip.   I also learned that research is full of speed bumps, hitches in your giddy-up, and new problems that need solving every day.  Apparently, some of the best results come from projects that don’t work.  Go figure.  I spent most days feeling frustrated and mentally exhausted.  But at the end of it all, I managed to produce a poster that I’m quite proud of, and had at least crossed one thing off my careers differentials list.  Basic science research isn’t for me, mostly because it clarified how much I love clinical work and how much I would miss it if I weren’t doing it. 

While my project may not have produced the results I had hoped, I didn’t come away from the summer empty-handed; in fact, I would say I came away full-handed, if that were an actual saying.  I understand more fully the desire for knowledge that drives us all in this profession, be it to discover the action of alphabetasomething kinase, treat a sick puppy, or do whatever it is that large animal and equine vets do (don’t judge; I’m only a second-year and am pretty scared of getting kicked).  I would encourage any vet student to participate in a research project at some point in your career.  You will come away with meticulous planning and problem-solving skills that only experience, albeit sometimes a frustrating, tiresome, but ultimately rewarding experience, can give you.  And at worst, maybe you catch a rat parasite.  NBD.