I began working in the lab during the summer after my sophomore year. Up till that point, I’ve never been involved in research, but I signed up for the Accelerated Research Initiative, and I had the option to pick from several labs. I picked the DIY Diagnostics stream because… read more
2017
Lab Partner has no “End”!
Personally, I chose DIY Diagnostics as my number one choice stream because I loved the variety of experiments that I would get to perform. Other labs have ongoing research during the Spring semester, but DIY dives into different projects (from sampling Waller Creek, to extracting DNA from your own saliva,… read more
Platform to Dive into Research
Entering UT Austin, I had no research lab experience and did not know what to expect as I received notice of acceptance into the Freshman Research Initiative program. During open-houses, I came across the DIY Diagnostics stream. I was intrigued by the innovative projects that were being conducted in the… read more
Anyone Can Be a Researcher
I’m Madison Scott, a Neuroscience major from Cypress, Texas! For my research project I’m developing a diagnostic for fungal contaminants of medical marijuana. A tool for quick and simple testing of marijuana will allow growers, dispensaries, and immunocompromised patients to prevent illness and death that can come from the use… read more
Failure is Okay!
Looking around all the posters at the FRI picnic my freshman year, I remember feeling excited and overwhelmed -excited because I would be able to join labs that specialize in anything from Astronomy to Computer Science and overwhelmed because I honestly had no clue which stream to choose. What finally… read more
Home Away From Home
When I first had learned about my acceptance into the Freshman Research Initiative I was quite surprised and ecstatic. I did not know what stream I was going to join at the time but regardless of my choice I knew that I would be involved in something meaningful.… read more
Taught Me to have Faith in My Abilities
As I entered my freshman year of college, I was absolutely overjoyed to be accepted into the Freshman Research Initiative program. I couldn’t believe that I had been granted the pleasure of working in an undergraduate research lab, which is a huge honor! After exploring several of the research streams… read more
DIY Experience: Easily One of My Favorites
Coming into UT, I was amazed by the sheer amount of research going on in the university. So many of my professors, TA’s and even some friends had conducted some fascinating research. Yet, despite being amazing, it was also daunting. I had no idea how to conduct research. But I… read more
Sense of Community!
When I was choosing between streams last year I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do. I have worked in a lab before, but I wanted to try something different from what I have previously worked with, which was pulmonary research on mice. Compared to all other streams DIY… read more
More Than I Expected, but in a Good Way
fWhen I first started college, I didn’t expect to start independent research this early, but I’m glad it was through FRI. After completing UGS 303: Scientific Inquiry, I faced the daunting task of choosing a stream. The DIY stream stood out because it seemed to involve a little bit of… read more