Introduction to the Briggs Lab: What's it like joining? And if you were an animal what would you be?

Yanelyn:

My favorite thing about lab so far is the fact that we have independence to do what we want with our projects. Of course, we must constantly ask around for methods and suggestions, but we have the freedom to see what direction these experiments go and that’s very exciting to me. It’s been a little challenging because this is still something that I’m not quite familiar or comfortable with- having

the independence. Sometimes I feel like I need someone to tell me what to do and what I should do with my time, but we’ve just been given basic outlines and ideas and we work on what we have. I think it’s good that we’re getting this experience now as I know that as I continue on to grad school and life in general, I won’t always have someone to tell me what to do and eventually, I have to become the person that uses their knowledge and judgment to create decisions to guide myself and even others. Some of my favorite things to do in the lab is working with the worms and maintain our E. coli and C. elegan populations because it’s super hands on. In addition to that, the highlight of my days is usually feeding the frogs and watching them eat their flies, it’s oddly relaxing and entertaining.

If I were any organism, I would most definitely be a Mola mola fish, they’re funny and weird creatures. I relate to them because their mouths are permanently kept open so they constantly eat whatever is around and they let birds take care of their hygiene- a simple way of living.

Alyssa:

I joined the Briggs Lab at the end of my third year at UCSB this past spring. At first, it was challenging, because I felt like I had to play catch-up—The other undergrads were already so knowledgeable and experienced. It was also intimidating, because I was surrounded by a group of brilliant, badass women. This is something that I think is pretty rare and special in the STEM field, because although gender equality has progressed leaps and bounds in the past few decades, there is still a bias towards STEM being a masculine-dominated field. Being in this lab, surrounded by these women, has done more for me than any other lab could have by providing me with female role-models and mentors. I also think that this environment made my transition into working in a lab easier, because it gave me more confidence in myself as a researcher in the STEM field. Ultimately, the Briggs Lab is not the dull experience I had imagined a lab would be, but rather an inspiring and stimulating place to work. My favorite part of any day is when someone in the lab, either at a lab meeting or in the lab itself, is excited to share some result or success story. It is amazing to be around people who are excited about their work, and for those people to be truly interested in their colleague’s work.

If I was any organism, I would be an otter. I don’t know a lot about otters, but I do know that they are playful and social animals, and I think would it be fun to swim around with your friends all day. I once saw this video of a group of otters confronting an alligator. One otter against the alligator, and it doesn’t stand a chance. But as a group, the otters actually scared the alligator away. If I were an otter, I’d be high-fiving my otter friends.

Josephine:

As an undergrad, I’ve found it difficult to devote as many hours as I want to the lab because I have to plan my time around classes, work, and studying. The time that I do get to spend in the lab ends up feeling short as procedures always take longer when you’re first learning them. However, that feeling doesn’t take away from how enjoyable lab is. It’s to be expected that in a research lab undergraduates have a tougher time because everything is new and the learning curve is very steep. In my opinion, it is all still very rewarding. When you can confidently preform a procedure on your own or with a mentor monitoring your progress, the hands on learning becomes infectious, just like the diseases we work with. When it comes to what I’ve been trained on, my favorite machine to use in lab is the florescent microscope because it allows me to see the tiny organisms responsible for the conservation efforts we are working to improve. Overall, learning specific procedures in lab has enhanced my general understanding of biology and ecology and makes all the time that I do get to spend in the lab worth it, no matter the amount of mistakes that I have to work through.

On another note, even after interviewing many disease ecologists who attended the Ecology and Evolutionary Infectious Disease Conference that was hosted at UCSB a few years back and hearing all about their crazy stories of parasites and pathogens, if I were to be an organism I would choose to be a nudibranch. I learned about them in my introductory ecology class and have been fascinated with them ever since. The fact that some have developed immunity to jellyfish and can prey on such powerful predators is cool enough but also I think they are the most pleasantly beautiful and intricate looking creatures with their unique patterns and colors.   

Becca:

UCSB has been one of the best college experiences I could have asked for. My classes and are challenging and engaging and taught be professors at the tops of their field. I have had the opportunity to work in this research lab where I get hands on experience and the guidance to carry out my own experiments. I’ve joined different organizations like Greek life, rock climbing, and Krav maga where I have met an amazing community of people and learned a lot of life skills that has made me grow as a person.

If I were an organism I would be Octopus in an aquarium in a beautiful tank with lots of puzzles.

Chloe:

Working in a research lab has been such a rewarding experience and I can honestly say that I have not encounter many obstacles. I began to participate in the Briggs lab a little over a year ago with little to no lab experience. Despite taking the required lab course that coincided with the intro to lab series, the most I knew what to do at the time was how to use a microscope and a pipette. My supervisors and peers trained and molded me into the researcher I am today, making the transition much easier with their patience and knowledge. I did have quite a few expectations for participating in a research lab, for example, I was eager to expand my knowledge outside the classroom. I did not, however, expect it to become one of my favorite parts of the day! I look forward to coming into lab to generate cutting-edge ideas, testing these ideas in a laboratory setting, and learning from my failures and successes during the process.

If I could be any animal in the world, I would without a doubt be a cheetah. Not only are they the fastest land animal in the world, but also they have gorgeous spotty fur that I have always admired.