Winston Kung - Week 7 (7/21 - 7/25) - Silverman Lab, Columbia University

Hi there, I'm Winston and this is my EXP Summer Lab Research Experience thus far:

I can't believe my last week is already here.  Time at my lab this summer really did fly by, and I am honestly astonished at how quickly my last day crept up on me.

Every morning of this week I attempted to go to both butcher places and get a rabbit head for the lab member who asked me for one the previous week.  Unfortunately, however, it seemed that every day of the week, both butcher places had something that would not allow me to get a rabbit head.  The second place had run out of rabbits for the entire week on Monday since someone came before I did and bought them all.  The first place was closed for Monday and Tuesday and did not had any on Wednesday and Thursday.  When Friday rolled around, I was simply told not to even make the effort to go again.

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I managed to finish analyzing the data for the rest of the four rabbit OCT scans.  By Tuesday or Wednesday, I became much faster and much more efficient with the data analysis program after I learned various different tricks and keyboard shortcuts.  I was able to finish one head per day.  On Thursday, I returned to working on the ultrasound scans and was able to get the majority of them done.  When my last day on Friday rolled around, I was already pretty close to finishing all 200 scans.  My PI, who had returned from his hiatus, had additional requests for me regarding the ultrasound scan data.  The last day (which was only until around 2 PM) was more work than I anticipated it to be.

At around 2, I handed in the key to my lab that I had received during my second week at the lab and certain odds and ends that I had received from them over time (such as a metro card to get rabbit heads).  I guess that's when it really hit me that I was actually going to leave the lab.  I was sad to leave, but also happy that I had been so productive in the time that I was here.  My PI remarked that it was probable that we would be able to make at least one ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) abstract that we could present at a national conference sometime within the next year.  Just before we left to go meet my parents for a "farewell lunch" that we had planned earlier, they gave me a Columbia University Medical Center T-Shirt as a souvenir which I really appreciated.  It read "Be nice to me.  I might be your doctor someday."

Perhaps someday!