Elizabeth Wait '19

What advice do you have for others interested in following down a similar path?
Firstly, I will say that I was extremely lucky. My joint PIs (Dr. Artëm Masunov and Dr. Subith Vasu) were incredibly supportive and our work was going well, so I was able to get several publications.
Getting into a lab:
Don’t be afraid to email people or talk to them after class. Most researchers love when someone is interested in their work and will be happy to talk to you. Even if they don’t take you, they may know of another lab that will. In my opinion, it is not super essential to do undergraduate research on exactly the topic you think you care about. I ended up on a different project than I wanted to be on, but it ended up being very enjoyable and reshaping my career focus. Even if that doesn’t happen to you, knowing what you absolutely do not want to do is helpful. Most importantly, you will gain general skills that are transferable to other kinds of research.
Doing well in a lab:
Don’t get discouraged too quickly! You won’t know what you’re doing right away. Even when you start to know what the heck is going on, there will be lots of roadblocks. Research very rarely goes smoothly.
You aren’t stupid. There will be lots of things you don’t know. Don’t pretend to know them. It won’t help you progress and your PI will not be fooled. Most PIs would rather have a student who knows what they don’t know and asks questions.
Practice, practice, PRACTICE scientific writing and reading! If Dr. Bill Self’s class is offered, take it! You are going to suck at writing initially and sometimes papers will seem like gibberish when you read them, but it truly does get easier.
Making the most of undergraduate research:
Get into a lab as soon as you can. It’s easier to be productive and grow as a researcher if you simply have more time. I started in my first semester at UCF and it helped me so much! Another way of getting more experience is committing a big part of your schedule to research, although this is not possible for everyone. I was in the lab far more than I was in class. I was able to get second author on several publications and first author on one. This was partly due to luck, and partly due to the commitment I made to my research. My publications were listed in my NSF GRFP application feedback as one of the main reasons I was chosen.
I was almost always here during summer. I typically took a couple classes then, which helped me make up for taking fewer in fall and spring (to have more time for research). Summer is super awesome because there is more time for research and there are usually more funding opportunities! Apply for summer fellowships at UCF or at other schools!
Something that had a huge impact on me was the Research and Mentoring Program (RAMP) through the AAP office. Apply for a program like RAMP or at least become familiar with the AAP people. They are the best! They have advising for undergraduate researchers, as well as programs that provide funding and professional development for underprivileged students. The AAP staff and the students in their programs truly became my academic family. I ate lunch, studied, and wrote all of my applications there. I even did my Skype interviews for grad school in the AAP office.
It may also be helpful to make an appointment for peer advising with the Office of Undergraduate Research. OUR and AAP can really help you make the most of your undergraduate research. UCF has lots of undergrad research funding that no one seems to know about. Once you get some UCF awards, grants, fellowships, etc., it is much easier to get prestigious scholarships and fellowships. Applying for the smaller ones is also really great practice!
Go to conferences and present as many posters as you can. It helps you learn how to present research, build connections, see what‘s current in the field you are interested in, and build your CV.
What research and internship experiences did you have while at UCF?
I came into UCF as a Provost Scholar and Burnett Honors College member. At UCF, I was a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow, RAMP Scholar, and Undergraduate Research Initiative Awardee. When the NanoFlorida conference was hosted by UCF in 2016, I won third-place undergraduate poster presentation. The financial support from my scholarship, RAMP, and my PIs allowed me to quit my side job and focus on research. Thanks largely to Dr. Masunov, I was accepted as a summer intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and started there about a week after graduating. At the LANL summer student symposium, I was a winner in the bioscience category.
What are some of the activities you enjoy outside of research?
I absolutely love hiking. I have narcolepsy, so physically active hobbies help me stay awake. Hiking and trail running help me clear my head and let go of stress. I am always up for an adventure and I really love the payoff of a good view. During my post-bac internship this summer, I rented a room on the edge of a canyon in the mountains of New Mexico. There were so many incredible places to hike within an hour drive and I can’t wait to go back!
I am also a scuba diver, although I haven’t been able to do much diving in Texas. I grew up diving in south Florida, as my family used to have a professional diving and fishing business. I’ve gone on dives in the Bahamas, Mexico, and all over Florida. It’s really interesting to explore another world, and I always wanted to be a mermaid.
What can you tell me about your future plans/long-term goals? How has receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship helped you toward those goals?
I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology. My PI is Dr. Pengyu Ren, who is in the biomedical engineering department.
Ultimately, I would love to return to researching at a national lab. I am interested in using computational modeling/simulation to understand protein interactions involved in diseases and to hopefully design drugs to treat these conditions.
Once you get one prestigious award, it is much easier to get other ones. It also looks very nice on a CV, which helps my employment prospects.