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YEEEARRRGGGGHHHH!!!! 
I am now officially IU School of Medicine's bee-yotch. 
OK....I've been a research assistant at the medical school satellite campus here for a couple weeks and I had a meeting with the professor and her research associate (a nice lady with a master's degree whom I work with all the time) this morning and I found out that my duties are being expanded.
Basically, from the sound of things they are pretty much handing me my own research project within the next few weeks. This sounds exciting and cool until you get into the nitty-gritty of what this all entails.
The research the professor has been doing (that I have been working on) involves various means of stimulating T-lymphocytes by various means). Well I have now been charged with becoming the "macrophage expert" ( Those were the professor's exact words (I wonder if I can list that on my resume ) and helping begin to establish a "cell bank" for the research division of the satellite campus.
Basically I have a couple of weeks to learn everything I can about the cell biology of this particular type of white blood cell, it's actions, how it does those actions, when it does those actions, and how to trigger and/or prevent those actions. I have also been told to learn how they interact with T-lymphocytes.
All of this learning is basically going to lead towards the new research project that my professor assigned me: studying the role of macrophages in dental pulp. It's tied in with the work she is doing on lymphocytes, but she decided to assign me a task a little more in keeping with my long term career goals. OK, it's somewhat interesting (OK, it's actually very interesting to a dork like me) but at the same time I'm scared that I'm going to screw this up.
Basically I'm going to be largely responsible for a couple thousand dollars worth of cells, media, and related supplies, not to mention detailed record keeping and my own continuing education on the subject of cell biology (weekly literature review conferences will demand that I don't slack off). Oh and I'll be attending school full-time on top of this. And in the spring my professor is adding teaching assistant responsibilities to my list of duties (FUN!)
I can't back down from this challenge, because the professor I work for knows a LOT of people at IUSD and I don't want to appear like I am running from a challenge, and I don't want to turn away from the possibility of doing some very interesting work, I just can't seem to get past the idea that all of this has been thrown at me the semester BEFORE I will have completed the basic biology course for our university.
I had counted on something very basic for the first year (the initial project was supposed to last two years, but I was told that the macrophage research could last anywhere from 18 months to until I leave the university), then MAYBE increased responsibility, not the rapid and steep increase like I have been given. Granted this should look really good on my application for dental school, but I will definitely have more than earned it through all the work this project is going to take.
Thanks for listening to me rant....I needed to vent....it's been a very long day.
Oh and if any of you dental students have a oral biology book you would be willing to part with, I would like to hear from you. 
I am now officially IU School of Medicine's bee-yotch. OK....I've been a research assistant at the medical school satellite campus here for a couple weeks and I had a meeting with the professor and her research associate (a nice lady with a master's degree whom I work with all the time) this morning and I found out that my duties are being expanded.
Basically, from the sound of things they are pretty much handing me my own research project within the next few weeks. This sounds exciting and cool until you get into the nitty-gritty of what this all entails. The research the professor has been doing (that I have been working on) involves various means of stimulating T-lymphocytes by various means). Well I have now been charged with becoming the "macrophage expert" (
Those were the professor's exact words (I wonder if I can list that on my resume ) and helping begin to establish a "cell bank" for the research division of the satellite campus. Basically I have a couple of weeks to learn everything I can about the cell biology of this particular type of white blood cell, it's actions, how it does those actions, when it does those actions, and how to trigger and/or prevent those actions. I have also been told to learn how they interact with T-lymphocytes.
All of this learning is basically going to lead towards the new research project that my professor assigned me: studying the role of macrophages in dental pulp. It's tied in with the work she is doing on lymphocytes, but she decided to assign me a task a little more in keeping with my long term career goals. OK, it's somewhat interesting (OK, it's actually very interesting to a dork like me) but at the same time I'm scared that I'm going to screw this up.
Basically I'm going to be largely responsible for a couple thousand dollars worth of cells, media, and related supplies, not to mention detailed record keeping and my own continuing education on the subject of cell biology (weekly literature review conferences will demand that I don't slack off). Oh and I'll be attending school full-time on top of this. And in the spring my professor is adding teaching assistant responsibilities to my list of duties (FUN!)
I can't back down from this challenge, because the professor I work for knows a LOT of people at IUSD and I don't want to appear like I am running from a challenge, and I don't want to turn away from the possibility of doing some very interesting work, I just can't seem to get past the idea that all of this has been thrown at me the semester BEFORE I will have completed the basic biology course for our university.
I had counted on something very basic for the first year (the initial project was supposed to last two years, but I was told that the macrophage research could last anywhere from 18 months to until I leave the university), then MAYBE increased responsibility, not the rapid and steep increase like I have been given. Granted this should look really good on my application for dental school, but I will definitely have more than earned it through all the work this project is going to take.
Thanks for listening to me rant....I needed to vent....it's been a very long day.
Oh and if any of you dental students have a oral biology book you would be willing to part with, I would like to hear from you.
