JESSICA FREED

Research Assistant

I chose to pursue a career in research because it is something I am passionate about, enjoy doing, and find meaningful. I have always loved biology and learning. In research, I am continuously learning in order to stay up-todate with the field. Additionally, through my own research, I have the opportunity to learn and discover entirely new things. I also enjoy working hands-on and problemsolving. These are crucial aspects in research. Every day, I am doing different types of experiments, including cell culture, mouse work, or bench work. When things don’t go as planned, I enjoy the opportunity to systematically determine what went wrong and apply this knowledge to future experiments. Finally, I have always wanted to make a positive difference to human health. Research allows me to contribute to a knowledge base that I hope will eventually be translated to disease therapy. This goal gives meaning to my work and motivates me to keep working hard, even on bad days. Because research intersects with so many goals and interests of mine, I have decided to pursue a career in research. I am looking forward to continuing to grow in this career.

There are many things I hope to learn during my time at the Hotamışlıgil lab, most of which are centered around learning what it takes to lead an independent research project. This begins with project planning: establishing goals and proposing an in-depth plan to achieve them. I also hope to learn how to plan and perform meaningful experiments. This includes learning a variety of in vitro and in vivo laboratory techniques, as well as how to determine proper positive and negative controls. I also hope to learn the best ways to analyze a variety of types of datasets, as well as how to effectively present my data and conclusions. Once a project is complete, I also hope to learn what goes into manuscript preparation and publication. Although I have a lot to learn, I am confident I will be able to learn these things from experts in the Hotamışlıgil lab. I have already learned so much, and I am excited to keep learning.