Anyone with NIH Summer research background? Please post experiences

fengshuibundi
Tue, 22 May 2007 15:05:26 +0000

**Which area you completed your research in: **PET Radiopharmaceuticals Section in the Molecular Imaging Branch of the NIMH
**Strengths of the program, what you liked: **The responsibility and feeling that I was an equal in the lab. Lots of tiny perks like visiting other labs/going to presentations
**Some weaknesses, any issues you didn’t like (too much time in glassware washing less time spent on meaningful research? Mentors were MIAs?): **Mentor was rarely around, relied on the IRTA and postdocs to understand what I was doing (organic synthesis/analysis of compounds for developing radiotracers to bind to amyloid-beta receptors in mice to detect Alzheimers). Washing glassware is something you have to do. There’s no way around it. Suck it up and do it, otherwise everybody will hate you.
**General advice about living arrangements/safety: **Bethesda campus is great. Really pretty, large. Bethesda itself is pretty active and fun to live in, nice malls and just in general the richest part of Montgomery County, MD. It’s safe, the metrobuses/trains are fast and NIH pays for them if you fill out the appropriate forms :]. As for living - didn’t have to because I was 20 minutes away.