The Future Healing Agent
Aleck McNeil, surrounded his capstone project with an internship in different parts of the medical field to gain knowledge, with quite a variety of experiences between each of the internships.
McNeil’s first internship focused mainly on pharmaceutical research, since it was working with an over the counter drug that is widely used in the United States.The main focus was researching the effectiveness of a specific worm (Dugesia japonica, a planaria worm) that could be used to model human cells in the context of acetaminophen overdoses
The other two internships were mainly focused on developing skills that would be needed in order to pursue a career in research, such as “lab jargon, hands-on skills (eg. pipetting), or the collection of data (through videos, pictures, etc),” McNeil said.
McNeil wants to enter into the medical field.
“I wanted to get experience over the summer that would allow me to make a more educated decision. Because I spent a lot of time exploring potential careers, I thought this would fit nicely into a career exploration project,” McNeil told the Prowl.
McNeil’s second internship primarily focused on the realm of genetics, where he learned techniques like Gel electrophoresis, or the operation of a PCR machine, which are important in genetic sequencing for medicinal purposes, while his third internship focused on cardiology.
Throughout his internship, McNeil had to use lab skills like pipetting, vortexing, and creating solutions, in order to perform the respective experiments. Additionally, he had to collect and compile photo and video evidence of his work as the weeks progressed, recording both the results and procedures themselves, but the time at which they were collected/ done.
McNeil feels that these experiences helped him gauge the importance of medical researchers and the work they do. While he feels that he is more inclined to become a physician as opposed to a researcher, he was happy that he was able to make this decision knowing the pros and cons of both due to first-hand experience.