INBT's International Research Experience for Students Program at IMEC: It’s July Already?

Hello again! Us interns are wrapping up our time here at IMEC, which is a crazy thing to think. At the beginning of the summer, late July felt so far away, and yet, it’s arrived. These past few weeks have been busy as we had to give our project presentations. I had a few stressful days before I was able to get nice data to present, but finally giving the presentation and showing the work I’ve done was really fun!

In the lab, I’ve been synchronizing calcium fluorescent imaging and lens-free imaging on cardiac cells to validate lens-free imaging as a method to detect cell contraction. It’s a time-sensitive, complicated procedure, but getting the hang of it and getting good data has been very gratifying. Time passes so quickly in the microscope room--I’ll barely notice that I’ve been tinkering with the system or collecting data for hours.

This past weekend was a four-day weekend thanks to Belgium National Day! To celebrate, Stephanie and I visited Brussels for a day to see all the festivities. We left with more flags and balloons than we came with, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. That evening, I traveled to London to visit my aunt for the weekend, which was incredible. We walked around some of the major historical sights of London, like Big Ben, Parliament, and the River Thames. One of the highlights was visiting St. Paul’s cathedral, where we climbed all 500-odd stairs to the very top for a great view of London, seeing the classic landmarks that we’d just visited from above. We took an hour’s train to Oxford for the weekend, where we did some more sightseeing and learned about the awesome history that envelops the town and university. As my last big trip of the summer abroad, I really enjoyed England and definitely hope to return.

See you next time for my last blog!

Lakyn Mayo is a rising junior in Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and an IMEC intern with the Johns Hopkins INBT IRES program. She likes dogs, mountains, and getting lost running in new places.