Doing Research at Tufts
Depending on what you want to study, many undergraduate students become research assistants or do their own research. There is a wide range of labs and I have worked in wet labs and a lab in the community health department where I mostly dealt with analyzing data. So, depending on what you are studying, research can look very different. In this blog, I’m going to share a couple of my research experiences at Tufts.
My first research experience was at a Developmental Biology lab in my freshman year. I was originally thinking of majoring in Biopsychology or Biology–now double majoring in International Relations and Community Health. At the lab, I was mainly tasked with assisting researchers and taking care of the lab animals (frogs). I gained basic laboratory skills like using pipettes and making solutions. Additionally, I was able to do this as a work-study. Due to changing my major and direction of what I wanted to do, I decided to discontinue working at the lab at the end of my freshman year.
Then came my second research experience, which is working at the Health Services, Society, and Equity Lab in the Community Health department. I got a position as a research assistant by asking my advisor who is the Principal Investigator. As a research assistant, I perform literature reviews and use STATA software to analyze data. I also got a chance to create a virtual poster for an annual health policy journal research meeting, which was an amazing experience! I first decided to take it for credit, which is usually 4 credits and requires a 10-hour/week commitment. However, as a senior, I am doing it as a work-study since I’m unable to commit 10-hour/week due to my internship at the Greater Boston Legal Service.
I hope that this was helpful and gave you a slight insight into what research can look like at Tufts. I think no matter what you are studying, as long as you are being proactive and asking around, you will have an opportunity to do research!