tion for Photo:
Zaqariah Checking for E. Coli Growth in a Laminar Flow Hood
Author: Zaqariah Qureshi | Major: Biochemistry, Psychology, Philosophy | Semester: Spring 2025
Short Blurb”: Setbacks and obstacles prevented me from being able to acquire data for my project my junior year. This resulted in anxiety, but I learned a key lesson about research- setbacks and obstacles are the norm, not the exception. Now I know that everything is OK, and that I’ll still be fine to complete my thesis my senior year.
I joined The Striegler Lab in the Fall of 2024, where I’ve had the opportunity to work on a project to research effective antimicrobial agents against gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli. I joined as a junior in the honors Biochemistry program at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.
My journey started with a dive into the research already conducted. It was a little overwhelming at first to understand the different research methods and how I was exactly going to conduct my experiments, but with some help from my mentor and the lab’s graduate student it wasn’t too long before I felt as though I understood my task. This was a very common theme the past two semesters. When I was ready for the next step in my research, I felt overwhelmed with the new considerations, procedures, and information, but with help from my mentor and graduate student, I’d feel very capable of handling my research problems. After understanding what my research was about, I spent some weeks building an application for the Honors College Research Grant, which I was awarded the following Spring. In between my coursework, MCAT studying, and volunteering obligations, I didn’t have much time to dedicate to my research, but that was completely okay! Once the Spring semester started, I was able to spend a lot more time in the lab.
My experiments were to assess the effectiveness of particular antimicrobial agents on E. coli under different pH levels. In order to perform these experiments, I needed viable E. coli cells to work with. My first task was to grow more E. coli cells from starter cultures. This proved more difficult than I thought it was going to be. For some reason, each of my attempts to grow E. coli only yielded dead cells. It was quite the mystery, and it required lots of troubleshooting from me, the graduate student, and my mentor. In fact, this hurdle took nearly all semester to overcome, especially since I was still splitting my time to studying for the MCAT. Towards the end of the semester, I was very distressed. I had to present my research at the Honors Day Symposium, and I had no data because I couldn’t acquire E. coli cells to work on.
At this point, imposter syndrome started to seep for me. I had been in the lab for two full semesters, and I didn’t have any data. I was worried about how my presentation would turn out, since it was graded for my Chemistry Seminar course. I didn’t have much to worry about, however. I had conversations with my mentor and my instructor for the Seminar course. Both assured me that obstacles to acquiring data for research are a completely normal part of the experience, and that progress is not linear in research. My instructor for the Seminar course told me that it was no problem that I didn’t have any data yet, as long as I present on the things I have learned from my time in the lab so far. My mentor told me that it’s completely normal to fail over and over; it’s the nature of science. Despite my lack of data, my mentor, Dr. Striegler, said she believed I made significant progress, and she thanked me for my efforts. This was incredibly comforting for me. It showed me that I had no need to stress; what I was experiencing was completely normal.
A large portion of undergraduate research is simply getting acclimated to the routines and procedures of your lab. Setbacks, obstacles, and failures are the norm, not the exception, for research. For my senior year, I look forward to coming to the lab with all the knowledge I’ve acquired over my junior year to do solid work and complete my thesis project.