{"id":9109,"date":"2018-08-30T11:16:56","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T15:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?p=9109"},"modified":"2020-10-29T23:04:42","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T03:04:42","slug":"a-summer-of-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/","title":{"rendered":"A Summer of Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victor Rivera-Santana grew up on the western edge of Puerto Rico, in what he refers to as an \u201catmosphere of science.\u201d His mother is a professor of animal science at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag\u00fcez, and in elementary school he would attend her lectures about the effects of environment and hormones on animal behavior. Three years ago, Rivera-Santana enrolled there as an undergraduate, and has been studying chemistry ever since \u2014 with the exception of this past summer, when he became a full-fledged member of the MIT Biology Department for 10 weeks during\u00a0MIT\u2019s Summer Research Program in Biology (MSRP\u00ad-Bio)<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

Rivera-Santana remembers being drawn to basic research because of its simple, pure, and noble nature, stemming from the creativity of the researcher. \u201cScience almost always has an application, so the fact that researchers in basic science are not looking for an application per se doesn\u2019t mean their work won\u2019t have one in the future,\u201d he says. \u201cThe researcher fulfills his or her own curiosity, and afterwards someone else can find a way to put that into practice in society.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rising senior, Rivera-Santana chose chemistry because he enjoyed analyzing the minute building blocks of life, but wasn\u2019t sure which field he would ultimately pursue. With chemistry, he could engineer the major to encompass biology and physics as well, which would give him \u201ca taste of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first he didn\u2019t know what post-graduation life might hold. However, two weeks into the MSRP-Bio program he\u2019d made up his mind: a PhD. \u201cI like the people, I like the passion, and most importantly I like the research \u2014 everything is so interesting it\u2019s hard to pick,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Rivera-Santana applied to MSRP-Bio early last January because he had it on good authority from three independent sources that this was the program for him. First a good friend and former MSRP-Bio student suggested it, then his professor, and finally his father.<\/p>\n

He had two main expectations coming in. First, that everyone would be intimidating and aloof. \u201cBoy was I wrong,\u201d he says. \u201cThe MIT faculty are really accessible and engage you as a potential researcher. You can stop them as they\u2019re walking down the hall, or ask them questions during the scheduled Q&A sessions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, he expected everyone would be hardworking, irrespective of their area of focus. \u201cI was very pleased to find that\u2019s the case,\u201d he says. \u201cI have not met one person at MIT who would not go the extra mile to do their job correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivera-Santana worked in\u00a0Thomas Schwartz<\/a>\u2019s lab, investigating an aggregate of proteins known as the nuclear pore complex (NPC), which is embedded in the nuclear envelope and controls the passage of proteins, RNAs, and even ribosomal subunits between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Although the NPC is vital to cellular survival, its structure is not yet fully understood.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Schwartz lab<\/a>\u00a0goes bit by bit, studying each of its components and their interactions with one another. Rivera-Santana concentrated on one NPC protein in particular, Nup93, parsing its role and design. He hopes this work will eventually help scientists understand the complex as a whole, \u201cbecause as the name says, it\u2019s complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivera-Santana studied four different variants of Nup93, working to express each variant by itself in bacteria. Most of his days in lab went by \u201ceither very slowly or very quickly.\u201d He would spend the beginning of the week growing the bacteria to express his proteins \u2014 a relatively low-key process since the bacteria \u201cessentially take care of themselves.\u201d The latter half of the week, though, when he began the purification process, was more fast-paced. It involved extracting and purifying the proteins from the bacterial cytosol, while at the same time taking steps to prevent the proteins from becoming damaged, such as keeping them at low temperatures by performing the purification steps in the cold room.<\/p>\n

\u201cPurifying is the really challenging part, but it\u2019s also the most fun,\u201d Rivera-Santana says. \u201cI had to work at four degrees Celsius, and I\u2019m from Puerto Rico so you can just imagine how I bear the temperature,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Looking back, his most exciting summer experience was purifying his first protein. \u201cI just felt this bundle of joy well up inside me,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I ran it through the gel to check its identity and I saw that beautiful blob of \u2018ink\u2019 that told me I had my protein, I just felt so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Rivera-Santana thoroughly enjoyed his experiences in lab, he was also thrilled to meet other budding researchers and explore Boston\u2019s museums and brick buildings. His proudest moment was cooking his first meal for his new MSRP-Bio friends (a classic Puerto Rican dish: rice, beans, chicken, and plantains). He enjoys putting smiles on people\u2019s faces, \u201cespecially when those grins are full of food.\u201d After all, MSRP-Bio isn\u2019t just about being at MIT; it\u2019s also about meeting people and being part of the community.<\/p>\n

He also learned he could live by himself, thousands of miles from his family. And he\u2019s prepared to do it again next summer, perhaps in the same lab. \u201cI\u2019m definitely considering doing MSRP-Bio again,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I\u2019m certainly also thinking about MIT for graduate school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until then, the three things he\u2019ll miss the most \u2014 in no particularly order \u2014 are his MSRP-Bio cohort, his lab mentor, and the tasty East Coast cherries.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Raleigh McElvery<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victor Rivera-Santana grew up on the western edge of Puerto Rico, in what he refers to as an \u201catmosphere of science.\u201d His mother is a professor of animal science at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag\u00fcez, and in elementary school he would attend her lectures about the effects of environment and hormones on animal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":9047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","placement-placement-homepage","research-area-biochemistry-biophysics-and-structural-biology","research-area-cell-biology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Summer of Science - MIT Department of Biology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Summer of Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Victor Rivera-Santana grew up on the western edge of Puerto Rico, in what he refers to as an \u201catmosphere of science.\u201d His mother is a professor of animal science at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag\u00fcez, and in elementary school he would attend her lectures about the effects of environment and hormones on animal […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MIT Department of Biology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-30T15:16:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-30T03:04:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"786\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raleigh McElvery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raleigh McElvery\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/\",\"name\":\"A Summer of Science - MIT Department of Biology\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-30T15:16:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-30T03:04:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/3faf9902afea805a1894ab34b5bddd66\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":786,\"caption\":\"Person with lab flask\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Summer of Science\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/\",\"name\":\"MIT Department of Biology\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/3faf9902afea805a1894ab34b5bddd66\",\"name\":\"Raleigh McElvery\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2580416cf282b6242f96ed13558deba5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2580416cf282b6242f96ed13558deba5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raleigh McElvery\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/author\/rmcelvery\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Summer of Science - MIT Department of Biology","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Summer of Science","og_description":"Victor Rivera-Santana grew up on the western edge of Puerto Rico, in what he refers to as an \u201catmosphere of science.\u201d His mother is a professor of animal science at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayag\u00fcez, and in elementary school he would attend her lectures about the effects of environment and hormones on animal […]","og_url":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/","og_site_name":"MIT Department of Biology","article_published_time":"2018-08-30T15:16:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-30T03:04:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":786,"url":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Raleigh McElvery","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raleigh McElvery","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/","url":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/","name":"A Summer of Science - MIT Department of Biology","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg","datePublished":"2018-08-30T15:16:56+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-30T03:04:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/3faf9902afea805a1894ab34b5bddd66"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Victor_1.jpg","width":1200,"height":786,"caption":"Person with lab flask"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-summer-of-science\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Summer of Science"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/","name":"MIT Department of Biology","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/3faf9902afea805a1894ab34b5bddd66","name":"Raleigh McElvery","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2580416cf282b6242f96ed13558deba5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2580416cf282b6242f96ed13558deba5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Raleigh McElvery"},"url":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/author\/rmcelvery\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9109"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17659,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9109\/revisions\/17659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}