43 Reflection on Undergraduate Research Experience – Gabrielle Desjardins

Faculty Mentor: Catherine Goodman (Writing & Rhetoric Studies, University of Utah)

The research I have taken part in as an undergraduate is independent of the work I am currently submitting, but it is still relevant. I currently work in Dr. Katharine Diehl’s lab as an undergraduate researcher. The title of the project is “Development of fluorescent biosensors for acyl-CoAs.” I was interested because the title had something I knew (acyl-CoAs) and combined it with something I was vaguely familiar with (biosensors). I knew acyl-CoAs were metabolic intermediates, and I had heard about fluorescent proteins in my general biology course and thought they were interesting. When I met with Professor Diehl to discuss the advertised project, I was fascinated. I did well in my biochemistry courses, but as she described the goal of the project, I realized that there were so many things I still did not know. As I have participated in the Diehl lab, I have learned more about the numerous complexities of biochemistry.