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The Interview:

Karen:Tell me about how you got started in research at Stony Brook.

Daniel: I joined the research group of Dr. Maya Endoh and Dr. Tadanori Koga at the start of my sophomore year. At that point, I knew that I wanted to go into medicine, and that being involved in research was essential for any aspiring physician.  I was in Professor Koga's thermodynamics class, and I thought what his research group was doing with bacterial and protein interactions was fascinating.  I asked if I could join their group, and after meeting with Dr. Maya Endoh and Dr. Tad Koga, they said yes, absolutely.

What are you currently working on in the group?

Currently, I'm studying bacterial absorption onto surfaces. We're creating these "nanodomes" on a surface, varying the properties of these "nanodomes" and seeing if the bacteria like sticking to it or not. That's pretty much what we're looking at.

Did you have any prior experience when you joined?

I didn't. I only had the experience from the lab courses I’d taken here, so I could do basic stuff like measuring things and pouring. But when I first joined the lab, one thing that I learned specifically about doing research in polymer and material science engineering is that hand-eye coordination is extremely important.  We use tweezers for almost everything we do, and you have to be very careful when you work with these small silicon wafers that are ~ 1 X 1cm. The hand-eye coordination needed for doing this type of work was a steep learning curve, and it took me almost a whole semester just to really get accustomed to manipulating them and creating samples.  

As I continued with the project during the next semester though, and the following summer through Explorations in STEM, I got much more comfortable. Basically, as you continue on in the lab, you reinforce the basic skills you’ve learned and are continually learning new skills. But especially during that summer of research, I felt like I learned almost everything that I needed to do this type of work.  I got trained in multiple machinery and using more complicated techniques to further these projects. I think that summer was really where I learned most of the skills that I use now and developed the independence to work on my own projects.

What was the most surprising aspect of doing research?

When I first got involved, I honestly didn't really know what research entailed. To be honest, it was a complete black box for me — how this field worked, and the process of doing research. And I came to appreciate how very time intensive research is. Prior to being involved, I didn't really understand how much time and energy really is required for every step. And that made me appreciate the whole scientific process a lot more.

Are you also involved in a senior design project for CEAS?

Yes, our team is working with Dr. Devinder Mahajan on a process to produce Jardiance or Empagliflozin. This is a very common medication that helps patients deal with diabetes. We’re looking at alternate ways to make Jardiance in as cost-efficient a way as possible. Since I'm pre-med, it was really interesting for me to have the opportunity to work on a drug design project.

What would you say you have learned from doing research that you don't learn just from classroom experiences alone?

I think the whole process of establishing a hypothesis and then testing it is something you don't really learn in class. Also, learning how to read research papers is something that you best learn when you are actually doing your own research and reading with a purpose. When you’re reading papers in the context of doing your project, or learning more about a certain field, you gain a much more in-depth understanding. And I think this is an important skill to learn, being able to read papers and apply information from them, especially for medicine.

Have you had any chances to present your research?

Yes, when I finished Explorations in Stem, I presented at the Summer Symposium, and that was the 1st poster presentation I’d ever done. And then last spring, I had the chance to present a poster at an ACS conference in New Orleans.  This semester, I’ll be presenting in Anaheim on bacterial absorption on nanopatterned surfaces.  

Did you feel prepared after having participated in several campus events prior to going to an off-campus meeting?

Yes, I think practicing a lot and just explaining the research I’ve done at these campus events was really helpful. It made it a bit easier than if I were just doing a presentation off campus for the 1st time.

My mentors, and the graduate students in our group were also extremely helpful.  I remember when I prepared that 1st poster for ACS, I wrote down a list of 50 questions about the smallest minute things about our experiment, and I asked Dr. Maya Endoh every single one of them: why are we doing this? Why are we doing that? How does this affect that?... I wanted to make sure I was as prepared as possible. And now, after going through that preparation, I have a much better understanding of the whole process and how to explain our work to others, both in the field and outside of the field.

What advice would you have to other undergraduates who might be just starting out about research?

My biggest piece of advice would be to start early: the earlier, the better. I'm very happy that I started early in sophomore year. Because I started as a sophomore, I was able to go to ACS last year, and I'm now able to go to my second conference. If I didn't start as early as I did, I wouldn't have as much experience, as much knowledge, and as many results for my research. Another thing I would recommend is to shop around before committing to any one particular group. While it's important to take advantage of opportunities that come your way, you also need to be selective and do research that you're interested in. So don’t just jump at the first chance, if you’re not really interested. Find something that you think is interesting, because that'll make it worthwhile rather than seeming like a chore.

What do you most enjoy about doing research?

When I finished Explorations in Stem that first summer, I think that it was overall a very rewarding experience. It was very satisfying because we did find a trend overall in what we were looking at, and I was very happy that my efforts led to a successful project.

Anyone who's serious about research should consider doing a summer program because it is likely to be one of the best experiences you'll get. In the summer, you have the time to really focus on a project and learn things in depth.

Any other advice for students?

It takes a long time and a lot of effort to get results. You should go in being prepared that a project can take a long time to finish. And that’s completely okay. In my view, it's not so much about getting a publication at this stage, but more about the whole learning experience, learning how the scientific method works, and learning about research.