My name is Chan Lu and I am from China. I am a rising senior at IU where I plan to finish my Biology major and Linguistics minor during the fall semester. Currently, I am conducting research in both linguistics and astrophysics. I want to be a linguist, astronomer, and fiction writer.

Here is a story: when I was a child, my mother bought me “One Hundred Thousand Whys” which are popular science book series in China for children. We had several books, including medicine, math, music, geology, social commons, and so on. I would only read the book that focused on astronomy.

I think most people aren’t able to resist the temptation of beautiful stars and galaxy. I am deeply curious about the mechanisms and principles behind those beautiful stars and the cosmos. I feel lucky that I have been able to pursue my interest in astronomy by conducting research alongside Professor Catherine Pilachowski.

Professor Catherine Pilachowski has been my faculty mentor in the field of astronomy since I was a first-semester junior. In our lab, the goal is to discover new techniques to analyze star clusters.

For my summer research, I did infrared photometry of globular cluster NGC 2419. My project focused on finding the CN band’s relationship with luminosity and temperature.

My lab normally utilizes IRAF software designed for astronomers. However, doing research remotely meant that I’ve had to use Python, Excel, and ImageJ (a Java-based image processing program developed at the National Institutes of Health).

Being a part of this project has enabled me to experience the research process thoroughly. Before conducting research, I wasn’t sure that graduate school was for me, but now I’m considering it because I like problem-solving and learning a subject in great depth.

I didn’t conduct research until junior year, which is kind of late compared to some other undergraduate researchers. I originally believed it was best to wait and gain more knowledge before I joined a lab.

While this had benefits, you don’t need to worry about not having enough experience to be ready for a lab. The professor of the lab will teach you more project-related information. It is better to learn as you do the research.

When I reached out to Professor Caty, I did not have in-depth knowledge of her research topics besides what I found on the Astronomy Department’s website. However, she was nice enough to schedule a meeting and provide me the opportunity to introduce myself. I was very happy when she invited me to join the lab.

To learn more about the project, I audited Professor Caty’s class. During her class, I learned stellar astrophysics and Python. I also learned how to read astronomy papers and fully absorb the information. This was vital for me to do research and has saved me a lot of time. I highly recommend that you either enroll in or audit the class your faculty mentor teaches if that is an option.

I recommend joining a lab or a group early into your undergraduate experience so you can have more results and/or write a paper. Additionally, if you don’t like the research or the field you’re in, you would be able to change your major or lab. Starting research early means you have more options.

If you have enough time, it can be beneficial to try different labs, including labs in disciplines outside of your major. The research process is similar, but it is possible to gain different perspectives from different subjects. In addition to astronomy, I also conduct linguistics research. By having both experiences, I’ve developed skills suitable for any field in the natural sciences, social sciences, and even beyond.

Research can equip an undergraduate with a variety of skills. Attending conferences and presenting can develop public speaking skills. Before giving a presentation, I focus on organizing my language and preparing an explanation that can be understood by a diverse audience. Audience feedback is important to consider when determining whether you have successfully explained your research.

Writing papers is another important step in gaining a more in-depth knowledge of a research project. There is no doubt that we may meet some problems along the way. For example, research papers always require us to explain the reason behind results or what can be concluded from the results. Often, gaps within my knowledge of the methodology, results, and conclusions that I didn’t notice before writing arose.

While it can make me feel stuck, it pushes me to think logically and determine the cause of the gaps. It could be that I don’t fully understand the mechanism behind a phenomenon or that I need to improve the data itself. Writing can help me find the problems within my research and improve my ability to problem-solve.

Olivia Abraham, a Cox Research Scholar and senior majoring in Biology and Chemistry and minoring in Psychology, was first inspired to study science by her mom, a nurse, and her dad, an analytical chemist for Eli Lily.

Abraham was further motivated to pursue medicine and become a physician after her grandfather became very ill. While it was a scary time for her family, her mom and aunt used their nursing experience to advocate for him throughout his treatment until he was healthy.

As a physician, Abraham wants to be an advocate for the wellbeing of her patients like her mom and aunt were to her grandfather. She believes that every patient deserves a physician they can trust to remain fully dedicated to their care even when hope seems slim.

Within the biochemistry department, Abraham is a research assistant in the Ressl lab and mentored by principal investigator (PI) Dr. Susanne Ressl and graduate student Perla Peña Palomino. One of the lab’s areas of research is structural neuroscience.

Abraham first became interested in this field of research after taking a neuroscience course. When she was searching for faculty mentors, she was drawn to Dr. Ressl’s work because it blended Abraham’s interests in biochemistry and neuroscience research. Abraham instantly felt welcomed when she met with Dr. Ressl to discuss the lab and joined after they determined she would be a good fit.

While Abraham recommends researching faculty mentors online when looking for a lab, she also emphasized the importance of meeting in-person with potential mentors.

Beyond learning more about the PI’s work, Abraham said, “You’ll also gauge what they’re excited about and what they really like about their research, and also what they value in their undergrads and their grad students.”

In the Ressl lab, Abraham studies the proteins that stabilize the synaptic cleft between neurons. If the synaptic cleft becomes disrupted, impairments in brain function can occur.

Abraham’s research focuses on a family of synaptic organizer proteins called C1QL. C1QL proteins bind to G protein-coupled receptors implicated in schizophrenia. Abraham’s work intends to determine how proteins within the C1QL family act at the synapse and what they look like.

Abraham was most surprised to learn that research requires a lot of collaboration.

“Sometimes when people think about research, you think about a scientist alone at their desk or at their bench working on experiments,” Abraham remarked. “But you are always talking to other people in the lab. Your PIs will talk to other PIs and try to figure out what they could be doing differently to get the results they’re looking for.”

After working on several research projects, Abraham was also pleased to discover that different projects and labs can yield completely different experiences. She noted that it’s vital to figure out which experiences will best develop you as both an undergraduate student and researcher.

“The most important thing is to find a place where you’re happy, involved, really intrigued by the research that you’re doing, and also where you feel supported by your mentors and the other people in your lab,” Abraham concluded.

Research has substantially helped Abraham prepare for medical school. She has a more in-depth knowledge of what happens within the human body at a molecular level and how research can lead to the development of treatments or prevention of disease.

Through presenting, participating in research talks, and describing her work to her grandparents, Abraham has developed science communication skills that she is excited to apply to patient interactions.

“Research has definitely solidified my interest in learning more about how humans work, how all the different parts work to make us who we are,” Abraham said, “and also wanting to talk about that and explain that to people who aren’t involved in research.

Sophia Ren, a rising senior majoring in Microbiology and research assistant in the Tuli lab, studies how alphaviruses assemble in host cells to become infectious.

Watch to learn how Sophia’s involvement in research has helped prepare her to become a physician and taught her to never stop asking questions and learning from others.

My name is Alex Woertz. I am from Corydon, Indiana and I am going to be a Junior studying Neuroscience at IU. My long-term career goal is to be an OB/GYN.

I became passionate about Neuroscience after I read a book called the Female Brain. It talked about how all the data on neurology and psychology focuses on males, and how there is very little research done on female brains. I was always interested in neuroscience, but this book really pushed me to pursue the field. I find the lack of research done on female brains to be infuriating, given that they make up half of the population, so I chose this discipline to learn and perhaps contribute research to field.

I applied to my lab during my first week freshman year and it was such a great environment to be a part of. Since it was my first semester at IU, I was trying out everything and meeting new people and finding my community. This lab was so welcoming and inclusive and was eager to take in students with no research experience and teach them about conducting research. My faculty that looks over this project is Dr. James Clawson. He is a great mentor and is so patient and willing to teach all his undergraduates.

To find this opportunity, I went to a call out that was emailed to me about labs looking for volunteers. I definitely recommend checking emails and fliers around campus for labs looking for volunteers. Joining a lab can be intimidating, especially having no experience prior. But the only way to learn is to jump right in! Usually the faculty member running the lab is more than willing to help teach how to research!

My lab decided to start my current research project in the spring of my sophomore year. The lab focuses on healthcare journeys with a focus on women’s health. I wanted to take on my own research project so Dr. Clawson suggested I take on a project about menstrual sharing. He paired me with another lab group member and we started our work right before spring break.

I was motivated to begin this project because I have always been super interested in women’s health. I grew up in a rural community where women’s health and education about women’s health was not available or talked about. There were no women’s clinics in my area and my school did not provide resources for girls to become educated on their bodies or sexual health. I think the lack of resources is what really drove me to do research in this field. I would want other young women in rural communities like mine to have access to information and resources.

Women’s health is an important part of health research but unfortunately overlooked. Health data primarily focuses on males and blanket conclusions are made based on half of the population. The end goal of my project is to create more literature in the realm of women’s health but specifically producing research in menstrual sharing and the culture around periods. We started out focusing on the sharing function on menstrual tracking apps and asking women if they used that feature or what would inspire them to use that feature and the further we got into the research the more we were learning about the lack of period education in schools and the complicated and intricate culture and social practices when it comes to periods. We are also learning a lot about how people have conversations about periods and what they get from these conversations.

I have learned so much on research practices and the steps taken to conduct research. I have also learned how to see conversations and data through different lenses and really expand my way of thinking about a certain topic. I never considered graduate school before working in the lab. Now, it is a serious option that I consider. I would love to do research in women’s health.

It has been such a cool experience being able to conduct my own research. You are adding something to academia which is a very awesome feeling.

Chelsea Villatoro, a rising junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Anthropology and Criminal Justice, studies stigma in academia as a member of the Mind and Identity in Context Lab led by Dr. Mary Murphy.

Watch to learn how Chelsea’s research has connected her to the IU community.