Understudy

One thing that is a feature of research labs - and certainly my lab over here, is the occasional presence of students for a few months. In the UK, these were primarily medical students taking the chance to have a rotation in a basic science lab for a change. Over here, it seems to be primarily MD PhD students (or students who hope to be in the future) either getting some much needed experience, spending time in a lab that they hope to join in the future (for the PhD part) or just generally doing something different for a summer job. Anyway, I was offered the chance of a summer student this year (from June to August - the summer holiday is slightly different here) but my trip back to the UK put paid to it - as i wouldn't be able to see the thing through fully. However, in this sense i got lucky.

Last year a student (Michael) from C of C (College of Charleston) spent some time working with a colleague (Sylvia - she has subsequently left the lab) in order to earn credit towards his degree (his 'major' is Molecular Biology). Anyway, he expressed an interest in returning this coming academic year - and had asked me previously if I would be interested in having a student. I (naturally) jumped at the chance - i have a couple of projects that had to be put on the back burner that it would be good to have someone pick up and move forward with. This also fits in well with my trip - Michael can't start until August 26th and im not back till August 19th so perfect. Long story short, i ran it by the boss, he thought it a good idea and arrangments were made. However, whereas before it was just for the Autumn (Fall) semester, this time it's going to be for the whole academic year - through to May. Of course, the benefit for Michael is that he earns credits, gets the chance of having his name on publications and gets some good experience in the lab. For me, it gives me the chance to stress less about some projects, and also to get used to teaching. Sounds good to me. So bring it on!