Grace Ying Goh
ASPB SURF studentship

"My experiences with the summer research school"
by Grace Goh

When I was awarded the American Society of Plant Biologists SURF studentship, I could not have been more excited. The amount of time and effort Jurgen and I had put into the application had paid off – I was the only student from a European university to have received the studentship. Not only did I have a summer placement, it also made for excellent bragging material!
    The summer I spent in the Denecke lab was one of the best summers I have ever had. Molecular and cell biology is my passion, and being able to do all the things I had heard about in lectures but hardly ever got the chance to do in practicals was absolutely fantastic. The experience opened my eyes to the world of academic research and immensely improved my confidence in my lab skills.
    One of the best things about working in the Denecke lab is the chance to work independently – to be able to work without having someone constantly breathing down your neck, without feeling pressured to finish an experiment in an incredibly short amount of time – and yet help is there whenever you need it. Everyone in the lab was incredibly supportive and was happy to explain things to me whenever I needed help.
     I am currently doing a work placement year at Aeirtec Ltd, a pharmaceutical company based in Newcastle, and I have to say that my summer placement in the Denecke lab was invaluable in preparing me for my current placement. Even though the techniques are vastly different, I have been able to carry over some of the skills I acquired over the summer. I am also very much looking forward to attending the ASPB conference in Montreal next summer – definitely the coolest thing about the SURF studentship!
    If you are considering doing a summer placement in the Denecke lab, I would definitely encourage you to go for it. It is not just something interesting to put on a CV, it is also a great experience not many students get, and you will almost certainly have a good time doing it!