A Student Scholar’s Retrospective on the USU Summer Scholars Program

The Uniformed Services University (USU) and associated labs lauded 75 students as Summer Scholars August 9, after ten weeks of research, professional and scientific development, and personal reflection.

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Madison Taggart (front row, center), receives a certificate for her participation in USU's Summer Scholars program. Taggart took part in the program for her second consecutive year, working with USU's Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute for her research project. (Photo credit: Sgt. Khari Bridges, USU)

August 20, 2024 by Madison Taggart

The Summer Scholars Program, hosted by the Uniformed Services University (USU) Office of the Vice President for Research, wrapped up on Friday, August 9, following a 10-week immersive experience on campus. The program culminated in a poster session and awards ceremony, where students showcased their research projects developed over the summer. The projects spanned a wide range of topics, including long COVID treatments, the impact of traumatic brain injuries on PTSD, disease imaging, and more. The dedication and effort put into each research project and poster were evident throughout the event.

I was among many other students seated in the USU auditorium as our Principal Investigators and parents all applauded and the certificate announcing the official completion of the ten-week summer program was placed in our hands. For most students, it was a conclusion to their first Summer Scholar experience. It was my second time in the program, and after two years of summer research the ceremony put a bow on what have been the most rewarding two years I've had in my life.

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Madison Taggart displays her work during USU's Summer Scholars Research Poster session, Aug. 9. (Courtesy photo)

I was always inspired by the biological sciences, especially when they pertained to human health in all its interconnected complexity. I always savored classes in the biological sciences, but what I needed was application of what I'd learned in college in a lab setting. I initially came into the Summer Scholars program through the connected Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP). Other interns that I've talked with either came in through NREIP or through the ORISE or SEAP programs, or with the SMART scholarship. No one came with the same level of experience: some students had already worked in a lab before or were coming for their very first lab experience. All of us were looking for the valuable experience of working in a research lab that focused on human health and medicine.

I came in as a rising junior in the University of Pittsburgh, primarily looking to get research experience that wasn't just paper and pencil. I first joined Dr. William F. Blakely's lab at USU's Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in the summer of 2023, and returned this summer. Both times, I've gotten to work on different projects alongside Blakely's lab, with my first summer being a project in PCR DNA mutation analysis, and my second summer looking at micronuclei and PCC Ring assays. I have gotten to experience almost everything the Summer Scholars program has to offer.

The Summer Scholars program offered a plethora of activities to learn more about USU's academic opportunities, the projects the different labs work on, and tours of the facilities that the labs rely upon. One of my personal favorite activities was getting to visit the Simulation Center, where we got to see how USU uses new technologies to simulate numerous scenarios its students might encounter: working with patients in a clinic, emergency wartime scenarios, and performing surgery. Another favorite activity was the USU Open House where we got to learn about the many different research programs looking into biotechnology, and the valuable opportunities offered by the school. Each of these experiences aimed to teach us more professionally what to expect from a research career. It also let us speak with experts in the fields we hoped to join someday after graduation from higher education.

One of my biggest takeaways was that research is not an insulated experience, but a community effort. Every person in a lab works to support each other's projects regardless of whether they are directly involved or not. Different labs share their resources with one another. Scientists globally collaborate with each other, such as AFRRI's annual radiation exercises with other radiation labs around the world. Whenever I found myself getting stuck on a problem, I could always reach out to my PI and lab members to ask for their aid.

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USU hosted more than 75 students for its Summer Scholars program this year. Students worked with a variety of USU labs and faculty on projects that ran the gamut of the university's military-relevant research portfolio. (Photo credit: Sgt. Khari Bridges, USU)

While my lab helped to guide me, it was up to me to move the projects forward. My PI didn't expect me to hold his hand the whole way and trusted that while he would teach me the basics, I was the one who had to learn how to organize experiments, write up experimental designs, and create a presentable poster under my own tutelage. In a professional setting, I had to effectively manage my time and build strong relationships to complete the research tasks within the limited timeframe I was given.

It has been a long and fruitful two years. I sincerely thank those who helped organize the USU Summer Scholars Program, including all the professional outreach activities and the poster session. I am grateful for the wonderful people I got to meet during my internship, and the lessons I've learned about professional life and work ethic. I'm grateful that I got the two years in this internship that I did, and I look forward to seeing what I can do in the future with the skills I have.

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