Susan Miller, M.A.
Senior Marketing Coordinator
Operating a half-million dollar robot was just a bit nerve-wracking for Mesa, Arizona, native Shane Durkin during his incredible internship with the Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory (HOGL) here in Tucson. Majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Shane will graduate in May of 2010 and plans to apply for medical school. Though he has always had a definite passion for the medical field, Shane came to UA intending to major in Physiology and wasn’t sure exactly how he wanted to pursue his future in medicine. “I didn’t know if I wanted to become a doctor, a physician’s assistant, or something else. I did know that I wanted to work in the medical field.”
Shane had the chance to do some shadowing in the Operating Room at the University Medical Center while he was interning at HOGL and he said, “I just get this feeling that this is what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.”
Secure in this knowledge, Shane explored his options and this led to a change in major though not a major change in direction. “I switched my major to Molecular and Cellular Biology and started to explore my options in being a scientific researcher. This change happened within the first semester of my studies. I did figure out from this change in my studies that I still wanted to pursue the medical field and decided on going to medical school. I kept my major the same, however, because a lot of it is similar to Physiology and the differences I still liked. I’m happy I switched my major though because it allowed me to explore what else is out there.”
On how to land a prestigious internship such as the one at HOGL, Shane recommends students keep an eye open for whatever is out there. He said, “I continuously checked the Molecular and Cellular Biology Web site for any open internships. I also kept in contact with my advisor. Then my advisor sent an e-mail out about this internship and I went to the information session for it.”
Competition was fierce. Shane was one of around 200 students that showed up for the Information Session. He said he made a strong effort to talk to the employer so they would remember him. It worked. Shane said students should be assertive and let employers know you are interested.
Once Shane started the internship, there was a huge learning curve and his actual responsibilities were fairly light. With increased exposure to scientific research, Shane began to fulfill such initial tasks as filling tubes with buffer, sorting DNA samples and filing DNA samples. “After some time and a lot of learning, however, I’ve got to the point of running PCR’s, analyzing capillary electrophoresis, and developing assays.”
For those of us not in the scientific research field, this sounds pretty much like Greek. A quick Google search and a link to a Berkeley Digital Library site told me that “ PCR has profoundly transformed the practices and potential of molecular biology through vastly extending the capacity to identify and manipulate genetic material. It facilitates the identification of precise segments of DNA and accurately reproduces millions of copies of the given segment in a short period of time.”
The sheer amount of information required for this internship is mind boggling. Shane said, “The most challenging part about my position is the amount of knowledge it takes to understand everything. Once I felt like I knew something pretty well, I’d come across a problem and ask my supervisor for advice. What she would tell me would be something completely new to me. Science is a never-ending learning process and keeps it from becoming monotonous, which I’ve come across with other jobs.”
Shane’s best advice to other students seeking highly competitive internships is to be on top of your game. “When your advisor sends out an e-mail about a possible internship, don’t procrastinate! Also, if you’re interested in some research a professor is doing then talk to them. It most likely will happen that they could use your help.”
Shane has a solid idea of how this internship will translate into his future professional potential. He said, “First of all, it’s going to be an awesome resume-builder. Secondly, it’s given me a great understanding of the research field in biological and medical research. For medical school, this is going to be quite helpful.”
Be assertive in your pursuit of a desirable internship. Don’t procrastinate. Stand out among your peers and be sure that the recruiter remembers you. All great advice from one of your peers…another UA Student Success Story.
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Submit it through our web site , email slmiller@u.arizona.edu or call her at 621-1408 to schedule an interview.
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