Updated: Jul 15, 2020 Hi everyone! It’s been an entire month since my initial blog post, and today marks the start of the final week of the SURF program. Much has happened in the past five weeks, and I hope I can share some updates on the lab’s research and document my own personal progress during…
Illustrator, Igor, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Updated: Aug 13, 2020 Hi everyone! This new blog post will be chronicling my first three weeks in Amherst College’s SURF program so far, I hope you enjoy this piece! As part of the Summer Reporters series with the Amherst STEM Network, I got the chance to do an Instagram Story Takeover; this meant sharing a…
Sleep, Summer, and Susceptibility: How Childhood Lead Exposure Impacts Sleep Patterns
Staying up until 2-3AM in high school studying for AP tests, putting together presentations, and sending out club emails, I always assumed I could catch up on sleep later that week (or at the very least over the summer). After joining a sleep research lab two weeks ago, I was shocked to learn how naively…
Using Lasers to Cool Things
Hi everyone! I’m Sam Schulz and I am a rising junior physics major. On campus I play frisbee and the jazz saxophone as well as spend lots of time in the physics lounge in the science center. I am currently home in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania having completed my first week of my summer…
Addressing Climate Change and Racial Justice: Best of Both Worlds
Hi everyone! I am Jeanyna Garcia, a rising sophomore and an Environmental Studies major (though I have not declared yet!). I am an Ecuadorian-American student from Washington Heights, New York City. Although the pandemic has brought the entire city to an abrupt halt, there are a myriad of things New Yorkers can still do for…
Exploring New Landscapes
Hi everyone! My name is Angela and I am a rising sophomore (‘23) from Shanghai, China interested in biomedical research and computational biology. This summer, I will be having my first remote research experience as a new member of the Jaswal Lab, and I look forward to documenting my learning process through the Network. In…
Exploring the Chesapeake from Home
Updated: Jul 3, 2020 Hello! My name is Jonah Horowitz, and I’m a rising junior and chemistry major at Amherst. I’m writing from my family’s house in Alexandria, VA, where I pass the time by reading and playing the guitar. On top of these hobbies, I also just began working at the Virginia Institute of Marine…
Uncharted waters
Hello! My name is Phyllis Oduor, and I am a rising sophomore at Amherst College. I moved to the US from Kenya in August 2019 to start my undergraduate studies. I was born and raised in Kenya from my hometown Nakuru, well-known for its pink flamingos that inhabit Lake Nakuru and its Menengai crater. This…
Doubling Down on DNA
Updated: Jul 3, 2020 Hi there! My name is Joanna, and this summer I will be having my first research experience as a new member of Amherst College’s Carter Lab. I’ll also be doing my online research in two different locations; the first half will be in my hometown of Torrington, Connecticut and then in Pittsfield,…
Trying to Save the Oceans … Remotely?
Updated: Jul 3, 2020 Hi everyone! My name is Kate and I’m a member of the class of 2023 from Pocasset, Cape Cod, MA. I love the ocean and my internship this summer provides the perfect opportunity for me to learn more about it. This summer I will be working with Joel Llopiz on the Twilight…