Will Wikoff, Week 7, End of the Line

This blogpost is a little late considering my last day was this past Friday, but I have been on the road since then and have not had the time or internet to write up my final entry to the blog and submit it.

This last week was very, very busy in a good way.  The week started off with a refreshing trip blue berry picking with the lab, this was definitely a highlight of my time at Duke.  The entire lab dropped everything and from 9am to 11am Monday morning we just picked fresh, delicious blueberries.  It was kind of refreshing spending time with the entire lab outside of the lab.

After that, however, I had to grind out the last of my projects as well as my presentation.  That week I conducted two behavioral trials with mice, prepared another whole round of DNA samples, finalized a protocol for the lab, investigated a faulty centrifuge, sorted and organized the HuOR library, created my EXP night poster, and then transposed that poster into a PowerPoint.  Suffice to say a lot got done.  In the end my experimental design seems to have worked, and now Serene (my grad students) will be using it for all of her trials going forward.
This is the set up I created to study mice in
a nocturnal environment

The entire week I stressed out because Friday, right before I left, I had to present my work to the lab.  I was worried because everyone I was presenting to seem to be much more qualified to talk than me, not to mention I did not even get the results for my presentation until ten minutes before.

12:10: Serene calls me over, the computer was finished analyzing the results from our behavioral trials (well half of them).  12:20 we start the lab meeting with miscellaneous announcements, 12:30 I finally start.

I was worried that someone would try and shoot me a curve ball question (like they did to Jeevan the first high school student in the lab to leave) but none came.  I am fairly sure they would not have held back any questions because everyone asked at least something.  Also, Dr. Matsunami was also pleased with the way I analyzed the results of the trials and said to Serene that these were good signs. After the lab meeting Dr. Matsunami wanted me to send my PowerPoint to him which according to Jessica (the lab manager) is a good sign, he never asks for high school students’ presentations.

Afterwards for the next three hours I had to pack up my stuff and say my goodbyes.  It was hard to leave, every time I was about to get out the door I got caught up in goodbyes with someone else.  I’m going to miss the Matsunami lab.
My buddy Eric and I right before I left 

I still feel like if I had an extra week I would be able to do so much more that I regret not staying for 8 weeks (I can’t even imagine how I would feel after 6 weeks).  Though everyone made it very clear that the Matsunami lab is now a home away from home for me and that I am welcome if I am ever in Durham.


I left the lab at 4pm Friday and for the next 8 hour I was on the road back to New Jersey.  It was a fun but tiring- we only took one stop over the course of the night.  Yesterday was all about running errands while in New Jersey, I saw most of the relatives on my dad’s side which was a lot of fun, I hadn’t seen them since Christmas.  I have really been traveling nonstop.  Right now I am in the airport waiting for my flight to Amsterdam, that’s my final stop.  I look forward to being home, seeing my mom and my little brother, it will be strange to not be working 9am-5pm every day.  Anyway this is it, it’s been quite a journey.  10/10 would do again.

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