Robin Fettig, a PhD student in the Warnhoff Lab, completed the SPUR program as an undergraduate student. At Sanford Research, one of our top priorities is to provide students with novel and interesting research projects. Robin interned in the Vermeer Lab and was tasked with validating “a bunch of CRISPR clones to see what part of the Ephrin B1 protein was important for cell proliferation and basically what part of the protein was important for cancer growth.” Perhaps the most important outcome of Robin’s internship experience was the sense of independence and ownership she felt over her project. “As a SPUR student, I was mentored in a way that promoted me to become independent,” explains Robin, and this independence gave her a “taste of what it’s like being a PhD student.”
Robin believes that SPUR played an integral role in her decision to pursue a PhD. “The SPUR program was definitely the thing in my career that made me want to continue on and become a scientist,” states Robin. “That was kind of the tipping point for me.”
Photo: (Left to right) Kurt Warnhoff PhD, Jennifer Snoozy, Robin Fettig
Jennifer Snoozy, a Research Specialist in the Warnhoff Lab had the opportunity to work in Dr. Lee’s lab during undergrad. Jennifer was an untraditional SPUR student and had the chance to work in the Lee Lab both during the summer full-time and during the school year part-time for four years. Jennifer believes her experience in the Lee Lab was integral to her schooling because “research is complicated and it's hard to understand if you're not in that world.” Jennifer enjoyed her time as a SPUR student because it pushed her to focus on “knowing what I am doing and why I am doing it.”
SPUR is known for being an excellent stepping stone to future career opportunities. For Jennifer, it gave her enough research experience to not only make her competitive for jobs but also made her significantly more prepared to perform research. Jennifer states that the techniques she learned during her SPUR internship “translated very well and I could become independent very soon compared to if I hadn't done SPUR and I had to start from scratch. It takes your training time and cuts it in a third.” SPUR also works well for preparing students for graduate school. Robin states “because you do so much lab work, I think it really prepares you well for the rigor of lab work in graduate school.” SPUR alumni are prepared to become independent researchers and can push their own projects forward, a necessary skill in graduate school.
Grace Schavee, a biology major at Augustana University, had the opportunity to intern in the Roux Lab the summer following her sophomore year. While in the Roux Lab, Grace studied the relationship between nucleocytoplasmic transport and bioenergetics in different cell types. One of the most beneficial parts of Grace’s internship experience was creating a scientific poster and presenting her work to others at a symposium. “SPUR really teaches you how to take the data you analyzed from your experiments, draw conclusions from them, and present the information to others,” explains Grace. “My science communication skills improved greatly after SPUR.”
Are you interested in the Sanford Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR)? Learn more about the internship program.