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...just "another person in the crowd." He found the faculty unapproachable and the department providing little information for prospective researchers. But he knew, even without any experience, that he had an interest in the lab. So Se-jin took the matter into his own hands. "Nobody realizes how easy it is to get into research here," he says. "I had no idea." So he arbitrarily called one professor at the medical school whose work sounded vaguely interesting. "It never struck me that anyone would have me in their lab," he confesses. But once in, he was hooked...
...small lab: one professor, one post-doctoral candidate, one technician, and one Se-jin. A new home. "When you're a grad student it's important to be in the mainstream, to be in a high powered lab," he notes. "When you're an undergrad, it's important to get into a lab where the head person cares about you, where they are supportive and encouraging. My professor never closed his office door. He was constantly wandering about the lab. I was immediately a part of the work, which is more important than being with a name professor." Words...
Even with all the technical disappointments, with the contaminated experiments, with the mysterious dying cells, even with the super-sensitive equipment that must be pampered like an old Buick, the mathematician's son has had some fun. Basic research is time consuming, lonely, chancy, and incredibly discouraging. But Se-jin entered it as if slipping into a warm bath...
Even if it's part time. This year, Se-jin roamed the country for medical school interviews. Meanwhile, he played teaching fellow in Biochem 10, the introductory Biochemistry course, while spending every spare moment in the lab. "I did absolutely zero work in other courses," he laughs. But he did enough to get accepted at Johns Hopkins Medical school where he will pursue both an MD and a Ph.D. His research will continue on viruses, this time animal tumor viruses, under the direction of Dr. Dan Nathans, 1976 Nobel Laureate. That's seven more years of school, including summers...
...medical school when he wants to work in a lab? "I think medical school has more to offer than just teaching you to practice medicine. My education there will contribute to the type of researcher I am," he comments. As part of his MD-Ph.D program at Hopkins, Se-jin will be exempt from tuition in addition to receiving a $5,000 stipend each year...