LIM XIN YING

18 July 2022

I am ever grateful for the opportunity given to me to take on my first official research project in the Laboratory of Microbial Biofilms (LMB) in 2022. It was a daunting endeavor, but one that I am glad to have taken up. As someone new to research before embarking on this project, I received tons of guidance and support from both Dr Ch’ng and Mugil during my time with them. Although my UROPS project is a continuation from a previous project, I never once felt that this endeavor was not my own as Dr Ch’ng made me feel empowered by letting me take ownership of the project. Although the learning curve was steep, through planning experiments and learning various laboratory techniques, I managed to pick up many technical and soft skills. In addition, Dr Ch’ng and Mugil were always there to provide help, advice or guidance with regard to my experiments should I have needed any. Their keen supervision was very much appreciated as it made me feel safe to fully delve into my project.
Admittedly, the journey was riddled with challenges where numerous troubleshooting had to be done. This meant having multiple discussions with Dr Ch’ng and Mugil where we tried to decipher the possible causes of undesirable results. The process was tough as I was met with disappointment with each unsuccessful attempt. However, Dr Ch’ng and Mugil were always there to provide encouragement and give me the extra push I needed. I am extremely grateful for their support as it gave me the motivation to persevere. I felt that it was through these setbacks and the subsequent troubleshooting where I truly experienced what scientific research was like. This is to be expected as not everything goes swimmingly when it comes to research. Dr Ch’ng also emphasized to me that learning to overcome these setbacks is what truly matters and reassured me on my progress throughout the project. These setbacks that I have encountered have both challenged me and allowed me to grow as a person. I would also like to add that this journey has taught me the core traits of a researcher, which include perseverance and adaptability.
Furthermore, I want to highlight a unique characteristic of LMB: the safe and friendly learning environment where open communication is encouraged between all lab members. Dr Ch’ng arranges for fortnightly lab meetings where lab members would present and share their progress and obstacles faced. In hindsight, I realized that these lab meetings were extremely helpful in improving my understanding of the project. These meetings promote active thinking while also acting as a consolidation of each person’s progress. I found myself looking back at the presentation slides from the lab meetings when I was writing my report as they served as checkpoints for me, detailing each step of the journey and greatly aiding me in my report writing.
My laboratory experimentations were supervised by my mentor, Mugil, whom I learnt a great deal from as we worked closely throughout my project. From teaching me the multiple techniques relevant to my project to being a confidante I can confide in when faced with troubles and obstacles during experimentation, I am ever so thankful to Mugil for being a constant support for me as she would always be there to provide advice on actions to take and clarify any doubts I had. Additionally, Dilyn, FYP student, and Ding Feng, fellow UROPS student, also provided me with a great deal of support as we helped each other tackle the difficulties we faced in each of our own projects together.
All in all, from writing my own research proposals and protocols to executing experiments and troubleshooting, this project has given me a well-rounded experience of what scientific research in academia is like. As much as I have encountered many difficulties while taking on this research project, I felt that it was an enriching and fulfilling experience that I will cherish and remember. The skills I have learnt and my experiences in LMB are undoubtedly invaluable to me as I move on to take up a Final Year Research project in the upcoming semesters. Last but not least, I would like to thank all LMB lab members for all the support and memories!