CHYE YU XUAN, CRYSTAL

29 June 2023

After coming across the world of microbiology and infectious disease in my other modules, I found myself being drawn into the realm of these tiny organisms and wanting to learn more about their impacts on mankind. Hence, I took on an 8MC UROPS Project under Dr Ch’ng Jun Hong’s Lab of Microbial Biofilms (LMB) in 2022, in my third year as a Life Sciences Undergraduate student.

The experience was initially daunting, given the steep learning curve, coupled with my lack of prior lab experience. Nevertheless, I was excited to embark on this research journey alongside the guidance of my Principal Investigator Dr Ch’ng Jun Hong, and lab mentor, Mugil.

Doing research in LMB was truly an eye-opening experience. While Dr Ch’ng prioritizes his connection with students – he is always trying his best to create a fun, inclusive and supportive work environment – he also has high expectations and challenges his students to think inquisitively. This meant biweekly lab meetings, where we had to tabulate and present our work progress to the other lab members. I was also required to submit Project Proposals, to ensure that I had done proper literature reviews and had a clear understanding of my project as well as its aims. The lab meetings were also opportunities for me to gather useful feedback from the other lab members, from interpreting quirky results, to advice on how I can move forward with my experiments. While these were tasks that I continuously dreaded due to their tedious and challenging nature, in hindsight, they taught me to be consistent and organized with my work as a fellow researcher, and prepared me greatly for when I had to write my final report and presentation.

My everyday lab work was mainly supervised by Mugil, whom I am also extremely grateful for - as both my mentor and dear friend, who took the time to train me on how to conduct experiments, write protocols, and impart me with lab knowledge necessary for me to carry out my work independently. Whenever I was faced with disappointing results, or had to stay late to finish up my experiments in the lab, she would be the pillar of support I could confide in.

My UROPS journey was not one without hurdles and there were numerous occasions that made me question my passion towards research, especially since most of my time was spent on troubleshooting unsuccessful attempts and failures. Ultimately, I overcame them with the help of Dr Ch’ng and Mugil, who were there for me every step of the way, providing me with kind encouragement, valuable insights and advice during the difficult and rigorous troubleshooting procedures, and seeking external help from our collaborators. Even during the short runway up till my report submission and final presentation, Dr Ch’ng, Mugil, as well as the other lab members, Jeremy and Hui Yi, took valuable time to help review my report drafts and run through mock presentations with me to ensure that I was ready.

Looking back, I am glad that I had this opportunity to do my UROPS in LMB. This enriching research experience taught me many valuable skill sets and allowed me to take charge of my own learning, while growing more confident and independent, both in and out of the lab. The heartwarming and friendly work environment also helped make the tireless journey much more fun and enjoyable. The learning experiences, skills and precious friendships made here are definitely memories that I will cherish and hold dear as I embark on the rest of my time in NUS!