When you think about sustainable energy, I’m sure you picture solar panels and wind turbines. That’s what I imagined sustainable energy solely consisted of before I joined the Barstow Lab of Synthetic Biology for Sustainable Energy. After working with our PI, Professor Buz Barstow, and the incredible postdocs and graduate students in the lab, I learned that genetic engineering and molecular biology can also be powerful tools to improve sustainability in energy and carbon sequestration.
The project I am currently working on is inserting the Calvin Cycle into Vibrio natriegens, the bacteria of interest in the Barstow Lab. Through this process of genetically modifying Vibrio’s genome, the microbe will become autotrophic and be able to absorb carbon dioxide to grow and sustain itself. This project could be important in terms of gaining a better understanding of carbon sequestration in biological organisms by optimizing photosynthesis through genetic engineering. Additionally, by turning carbon dioxide into carbon biomass, large-scale production of autotrophic Vibrio could recycle greenhouse gases into biofuel.
Before joining the Barstow Lab, I had no prior experience in synthetic biology, genetic engineering, or even working with bacteria in a wet lab at all. As a chemical engineering major, my classes had nothing to do with the research I was doing. All I had was an immense passion for doing research since high school and an aptitude to learn new things. I was accepted into Cornell as a Rawlings Research Scholar, a program that propelled my journey in undergraduate research starting my freshman year of college. As a Rawlings Research Scholar, I received support from the Cornell Commitment in my search for a research position and funding for any equipment, materials, and wages needed.
However, even without being a part of the Rawlings program, there are a myriad of research opportunities available in every school and every department for undergraduate students. Reaching out to professors, emphasizing your interest, and demonstrating the ability to learn, problem solve, and persevere is enough to get the chance to do research at Cornell. My best advice to stand out to professors would be to: 1) figure out what specific areas of research you are interested in and look at those department pages for specific Cornell faculty members, 2) stalk those faculty members and actually read the papers they’ve published so you can be knowledgeable when considering joining their labs, and 3) personalizing emails you send to professors to demonstrate your unique interests in relevant research they are conducting.
Research is one of the most fulfilling and rewarding extracurriculars undergraduate students can do, in my opinion. You can gain hands-on experience in any field, no matter what you are studying in class or what you have done in the past. It is also extremely flexible, I am able to go into the lab whenever I have free time between my classes and even on weekends if I am feeling it – no need to stick to any rigid work schedule. Besides the experimentation part of research, you can develop necessary skills in paper writing, public speaking, and working as a team. I have had an amazing experience so far doing research in the Barstow Lab and I look forward to continuing my project and working with this team in the future!
~Megan, chemical engineering