Current student, Vinicius Vasconcellos, shared the following about being a Summer Intern in the Yongie Yang Lab …
What did you do as an intern at this organization?
At the Yang Lab, I worked alongside my mentor, Dr. Chen, on the project “Myeloid cell receptor Clec7a in regulating microglial inflammation in neurodegenerative disease.” Most of my work centered on immunohistochemistry, where I practiced techniques such as cryostat sectioning, immunofluorescence staining, confocal microscopy, and the perfusion and extraction of brain and spinal cord tissues. What made the experience eye-opening was seeing how these pieces come together to create a dataset. I was able to follow the process from breeding and genotyping the mice, to preparing and staining tissue, to imaging and quantitative analysis. Being part of the entire workflow showed me how much patience and iteration research requires, but it also made the results feel deeply rewarding because I had contributed at every stage.
What I valued most was the chance to move beyond observation. I was encouraged to think critically about why each step mattered, which helped me shift from simply practicing techniques to understanding how they advance discovery in neuroscience (and research as a whole).
How did you find this internship?
I first heard about the Neuroscience Department at Tufts Medical School through a friend. After learning more, I decided to cold email the PI, Dr. Yang, to express my interest in getting involved with research (as they say, sometimes all you have to do is cold email!). He kindly connected me with my mentor, Dr. Xuan Chen, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab who is leading work on ALS and microglial inflammation.
What did you enjoy most about your internship?
What I enjoyed most about my internship was working alongside my mentor, Dr. Chen. She not only taught me technical skills in the lab, but also helped me understand how those skills fit into the bigger picture of scientific research. She shared insights about different career paths in neuroscience and medicine, and was always generous with her guidance and encouragement. I really valued how approachable she was, as I never felt hesitant to ask questions; I learned as much from her advice and perspective as I did from the lab work itself.
What did you find challenging?
The most challenging part was by far the troubleshooting; and, as I quickly learned, research is really all about troubleshooting. Sometimes an antibody wouldn’t stain the way we expected, or the confocal images didn’t come out as clearly as they should have. In those moments, I had to navigate my mistakes and work closely with my mentor to figure out the next steps. Sometimes that meant adjusting the protocol, other times redoing the experiment with a slightly different dilution or imaging setting. While it was frustrating at times, these challenges taught me that the process of problem-solving is just as important as the result.
What advice would you offer to someone who wants to make the most of an internship like yours?
My biggest advice would be to ask questions—constantly. Before you even start, talk to friends, peers, or mentors who have had similar experiences so you have a sense of what to expect. Once you are in the lab, don’t be afraid to ask your mentor or other lab members whenever you’re unsure about something. Research is challenging, and the techniques can be complicated, so it’s important to make sure you really understand what you are doing rather than just going through the motions. The more curious you are, the more you’ll get out of the experience.
