Research - "In charge of the project"

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I've been working as an undergraduate in one of the on campus research labs since this June. I've gone from volunteering in the lab, to taking the lab as a one credit "research" pass/fail class, to being actually employed and on payroll. Also, I'm probably going to get a pay raise next semester because of a scholarship.

It's been an adventure to say the least.
As a lowly undergrad in the lab, of course I do all of the work no one else wants to do - from working with finicky antibodies on a doomed-to-fail western blot nightmare to 1000 well micro-metabolicassays that force me to go through multiple boxes of micro-pipet tips per day. Next up, micro dissections. And, of course, all of them involve initially baffling computer programs for data processing. But I do enjoy it. (:

Well, anyway, the person that is in charge of the project that I am also working on is leaving the lab at the end of this spring. I found this out when I was out getting coffee with the lab one day, and that same day as we walked back to the lab my professor (joked, I thought) that I'll "be in charge of the project" after she leaves. I laughed in response and then she (my supervisor) said something like, "Oh, but you can email or call me whenever, don't worry". So that made me think that he wasn't kidding... He's mentioned it several (3 or 4) other times too, with a serious face.

I don't really know what to make of this...

The person in charge of the project doesn't want to finish? odd

Well could be an opportunity for you to jump ahead.

If I understood you are not in charge of the lab but the project that grad student was working on?
That is quite normal and since you already know a lot about the project, it is the most logical step. I have seen some undergrads that were much better then lots of grads in research, so don't be scared, just go for it.
Also it seems that you are valued there, otherwise you would only wash dishes not fixing antibody protocols.
Good luck and enjoy it.

I am nervous... but they've generally been pretty understanding of my undergradness - taking lots of classes, needing study time and such. None of them know about my AS either, which is new for me and which I sometimes get nervous about - they're always shocked when they see my handwriting or are reminded of how naturally disorganized I am since I try to be tidy and very systematic with protocol and such and it apparently gives them a false impression. And no one in there really cares about/notices the social stuff - I mean, who are they to judge my people skills?

Anyway, I come into the lab maybe 10 to 15 hours per week as it is. It isn't too much to handle at all and I can't imagine it'll change too much... The only thing that I'm concerned about is being in charge of scheduling more things, since that kind of organization is difficult for me. I could handle it if I had to though, i think...

I am flattered that they actually think I'm helpful and that they seem to trust me so much... I'll talk to my friend (the one who started the project) that's leaving next time we are both in the same room about "what's gonna happen when she leaves" just casually and then I might worry more or less after I hear what she has to say about it.

Thanks, y'all! (:

That is really cool, but I can totally understand your nervousness. I may or may not be headed down a path similar to yours in the future. Please keep us posted on how things go. I wish you the very best of luck!! !

So, an update. A looooong update.

Things have gotten quite a bit more intense. I'm working in the same lab for this summer (Been a whole year now since I started!), and I'm currently planning to continue working there during the fall and spring semesters of my junior and senior years as well.
I had a minor surgery just after the semester ended so this week was my first time back at the lab since school ended at the beginning of may - I took almost 2 weeks off for recovery which was a very nice respite after the insanity of finals week.


As far as how the actual labby stuff has been going so far, today was only my third day back on the job and I haven't seen the person that started the project around at all yet (she's leaving very soon) so I just report directly to the professor and I hash things out with him. The lab work load is getting pretty intense - but I'm managing fine so far - I've spent about 24 hours in the lab so far this week. I also wrote and used my very first "DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION - [my name]'s [expensive and delicate piece of equipment]" label: I consider that kind of a major milestone, personally.

Anyway, since I can be more focused during the summer (no schoolwork/classes to worry about) I've taken on a few interesting new aspects of the project.

With my own hands I'm doing: More delicate micromanipulation/microscopy, trying out (and fine-tuning) various known protocols to better suit our model organism, and even coming up with my own experimental set-ups to help make some preliminary assessments about if this one other project is feasible to attempt.
All of this is in addition to the part that I was in charge of during the semester and I kinda am actually starting to feel like I'm very close to being "in charge of" the project now. It's so, so busy but very, very exciting!

Oh, and this next bit was a surprise to me when I showed up for work on monday: Besides my regular responsibilities/lab work, I also am now in charge of teaching another undergrad to be an extra pair of hands for me - how's that for a role reversal? I remember when I was doing the same thing for the person that started the project just a year ago! It's kind of surreal being on the other end of things.
Anyway, I'm teaching the other undergrad how to perform an assay for me that is important but that I otherwise would not have time to get to in the near future. She's volunteering for just the summer - just like I did last summer - and I'm hoping that I can teach her well enough for her to be helpful to have around/actually get some useable data for me in the next few months. I also hope she becomes more comfortable in the lab - I'm worried she might be kind of intimidated by all of the steps and put off by the tedium of microassays. I hope she doesn't get putout - I'm trying very hard to be encouraging so that she doesn't feel discouraged because I remember how I felt a year ago in her position. I've learned that a good attitude makes almost anything manageable and I just hope she has a similar positive philosophy to work through the long hours and tedium...

I was surprised that my professor is already expecting me to teach someone else how to do this stuff - it's kind of intimidating but I'm pretty excited - though a little nervous too, of course. It's strange having someone look to me with questions and even weirder actually having answers to most of them.

Wish me luck, if you could - I think I'll need it considering how much is on my plate right now.

This is freakin' awesome! Luck wishes coming your way.

And please keep us up to date. This is fantastic to read. Congratulations!

I really appreciate the encouragement - I'll keep y'all posted!

Oh, so, I thought this was amusing and I wanted to share: Today my professor told me I'm "very organized and good with people". (Note: I have dysgraphia and aspergers.)

LAWL. He should talk to my middle school's guidance counselor and tell her that. She might die from shock.

Compared to many researchers, I'm pretty sure he's right!

It's funny to look at the standards by which people are measured. For instance, aside from the normal run of jokes about it how many doctors are actually told their handwriting is hard to read? Scientists of all stripes can have personality quirks that a middle school counselor would jump on in an instant, but they are taken for granted because the person is a scientist. And as for being good with people, this is an area where research scientists in particular often fall short. I'm pretty sure he was completely serious in what he said.

It sounds like you're in with a really good bunch of people. Revel in it!

Hahaha. Yeah the standard for being good with people in the lab is a bit different from the rest of the world. I'm pretty sure at least 50% of the people in the building are aspies.

Hi, folks. Just a brief update, again.
I've been in the lab every weekday (several weekends too) since I started this summer. Things are staying very, very busy - I'm getting closer to optimizing one of my more troublesome new protocols which is very exciting - it seemed impossible at first but I think it actually may work out... Maybe... Hopefully... I really want it to work!
But the point is, there is some hope for it. Yay!

The dissections are actually going very well and I'm getting quite good at using forceps/dissecting under a microscope. Hoorah for steady hands! I thank videogames for giving me years of practice.

For another aspect of the project whose protocol I've been developing/modifying to make it give more reliable results, I've made some pretty awesome progress. Now the protocol is actually pretty solid and we're actually gonna try to collect some preliminary data next week - keeping my fingers crossed that it all goes without a hitch!

The girl that I trained is doing rather well - she's assisting me by performing one specific aspect of the project and that's actually the assay that we are performing next week - she's performing the assay mostly with her own hands (I just help her prep/transport a few minor things to save time since it involves very time sensitive data collection and lots of going up and down between floors) and I feel pretty confident that she can do it with no issues/speed bumps - knock on wood. I try to always be available if she's confused/has any questions. She has improved immensely since she started - I'm excited to see how the assay goes. She also told me she thinks it's fun to work in the lab - which is good news. I remember she felt very intimidated the first week or so and I was worried that she would get discouraged. I've put extra effort into helping her feel more at ease and I'm glad it has helped.

On a less serious note - there is a grad student (I think he's a grad student) who works in another professor's lab down the hall that is using the spectrophotometer in our lab this summer. I've seen him around before but never talked to him. We've been coming in at around the same time this summer - so I see him on the way upstairs to the labs sometimes. I actually started a conversation with him in the elevator today so I know his name now and I introduced myself too - only a minimal level of awkward in that conversation. Actually, it went pretty well considering the fact that it was an elevator conversation. I hope I see more of him.

Insaneeeeeeeeeeeeeee. This s**t be crazy.
The work is going fine - just a social thing that is blowing my mind. I'll update later. It's like I'm in some sitcom or something. Yeesh.