by Tinuola Owolabi
I am a rising senior at Hopkins on the pre-med track double majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Spanish for the Professions with a minor in Bioethics. Because I want to only take one gap year, my priority was studying for the MCAT; however, I believe that only studying can be very frustrating, which is why I have also dedicated my summer to hospice volunteering and doing research in Dr. Eric Oliver’s lab. I am a research assistant
in the Mechanisms of Allergic Diseases lab and a hospice volunteer in Gilchrist hospice care. As the most senior member of the lab, my duty is multi-faceted. If there’s improvements to be made in the lab, Dr. Oliver and I work together to implement them. Calling patients, assisting in the clinic, and doing experiments are all within my job description. We use human skin, human blood, or manufactured cell lines for our stimulation and blood basophil experiments. Because our focus is chronic spontaneous urticaria, these experiments and samples are essential for finding out more about how mediators, specific cell types, and receptors interact with each other during allergic reactions. Basophils, eosinophils, Prostaglandin D2, TNF-alpha, Eotaxin-3, IL-3, IL-13, and IL-4 are used in ELISAs, double/single percoll experiments, and regular stimulation as a method of testing our hypotheses. The biggest challenge is scheduling everything. For example, blood percolls take about 2 hours and immediately lead to a blood stimulation experiment. With the stimulation, other than the set up there’s a 20-hour incubation period which required me to go to lab outside of my regular hours. ELISAs take 3 hours to set up and 6 hours to complete and analyze. I originally planned to only come in for 2.5 hours every day, so this means a great adjusting of my MCAT schedule. However, with careful planning and giving myself grace, I was able to complete all the experiments as planned and still study. I have been in this lab since my sophomore year and because of even more limited time I was not able to fully do these experiments. Due to more flexible timing, I advanced my basic science skills and knowledge of the mechanisms behind our hypotheses. I am so much better at washing using the aspirator, a skill which requires very steady hands and good timing. Furthermore, reading protocols, entering data, and coming up with my own templates are tasks I do with ease, though they were once daunting and illegible. Recently, Dr. Oliver has brought some highschoolers into the lab for the summer which has made it necessary to be kind, knowledgeable, and a patient communicator when asking them to do certain tasks or when teaching them how to do basic science skills. Teaching them how to measure in a graduated cylinder or use the hood at time requires repeated instructions but are excellent life skills.
I have always wanted to work out because I believe in its powerful effects on the human body. My OKRs included being less anxious, working out regularly, and being a better researcher but I know the goal I was the most consistent with was working out. I do admit I have become a better researcher and less anxious, but I have never been as consistent in exercise as I have been this summer. I have way more energy, my mood is more stabilized, and I can see my body slowly but surely changing for the better. It is nice to be able to look back on the goals I set and see that I was consistent, and it is very interesting to see what I expected versus the reality of what is happening. For example, I thought I would see crazy physical changes but they’re very subtle. Through the Life Design Practicum, I have had an excellent medium to reflect on the past, where I am now, and where I want to go in the future. I was able to see we are all students when it comes to leadership. To be human is to be faulty therefore it is not possible to be the perfect leader, in the same way it is not possible to be the perfect human. I have always had trouble accepting when someone else is the leader however, upon further reflection, this can lead to problems in team unity. Therefore, one of my goals moving forward is to allow others to take the lead. Another important takeaway was the importance of self-compassion. At Hopkins where we are always on the grind to be the best candidates for graduate school or professional school, we forget to give ourselves grace. Many people are self-described perfectionists however it is essential that we do not allow these traits to weigh on us. We can’t always get As, every leadership role, exercise, be in multiple research labs, 1,000 clinical hours, and more. Journaling, crocheting, and other methods can relax you and be examples of self compassion. As a doctor, research will be a big part of my career and training so all the skills Dr. Oliver is teaching me will not only be how to run experiments but how to run a lab. The self-compassion skills I learned are proving more vital than ever with the stress and difficulty of MCAT studying. The importance of exercise will save my youth and hopefully teach me more about my body and how to take the best care of it. Lastly, doctors are the head of the healthcare team so being able to let an attending or an older healthcare team member take the lead on the treatment plan will be beneficial for learning.
