The 2020 Summer Check-In series continues with rising junior Lindsay Scott of the Muhlenberg women's soccer team, a biology major who studied the genetics of the roundworm C. elegans
through a remote internship sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
Although this summer is different from any in the past, that has not stopped Mule athletes from enjoying fantastic experiences. If you would like to tell the story of your summer, please fill out our Summer Check-In form!
This summer, I was fortunate enough to be selected to complete a remote internship through the National Institutes of Health. Due to the overwhelming number of internships that have been cancelled this summer, the
Career Center offered some additional internships that were not originally posted.
When I read the description for this project, I was very interested because it would allow me to apply the knowledge I learned this past semester in Genetics. The alumnus who sponsored this internship, Dr. Andy Golden '82, studies
C. elegans and works on understanding the functioning of nematode genes in order to apply this knowledge to humans.
My assignment this summer was to study a few genes that his lab was interested in by completing literature searches and writing a report on my findings. I was tasked with using these literature searches to come up with some theories on how the gene may interact in the germ line of
C. elegans. His lab is currently using the knowledge I gained from my research in order to attempt to connect the functioning of the genes in
C. elegans to their corresponding functions in humans.
Ultimately, what I enjoyed most about this experience is using the concepts that I learned in Genetics this semester and applying them to real-world research scenarios. This experience has helped me grow as a researcher, and I am thankful for the opportunity to help a Muhlenberg alum! I also appreciate the new connections I have made to Dr. Golden and members of his lab, as well as the chance to work for the prestigious National Institutes of Health.
