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Although Morgan was unable to study the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, she continues undaunted, and looks forward to studying compensatory hypertrophy.
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Scholar's Journal
My summer was spent on the edge of campus, in a dimly lit underground cave. I think the synonymous term would be “lab,” but no matter. Like many of the scholars, my task this summer was to learn a new skill, which would be used in the execution of a research project. It sounded so easy: learn the technique, implement the plan, get results, voila! A beautiful senior thesis pops out! Well, let us just say that my naïveté didn’t come knocking without a friend, whom I will introduce later.
The task was this: learn how to properly and consistently place a lesion in the dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus of the Siberian hamster. Fascinating and tedious, this process was to require the length of the summer. In cycles, I was to perform the surgery on a set of hamsters, extract and fix the brains, slice each brain into roughly 40 micrometers, place each cross-section on a microscope slide, and study the slides to judge my own performance. Repeated ad nauseam, these cycles were to render me a master of hamster brain surgery and I would forge, with unwavering determination, into the uncharted territory of the implementation phase of my research project.
But, my hopes were dashed one fine summer day, over a nice scoop of espresso flavored gelato: one of the grad students in the lab informed me that he had evidence to believe that there would be complications with the lesion and the particular species with which I worked. It took me a couple of weeks to kick a serious case of denial before I realized that his words were synonymous with “it’s not gonna happen.” Here’s where I introduce defeat – long time friend of naïveté.
Since then, the semester has begun, the lab has determined that my beloved study must wait several months, and I have embarked on a new one. I will be trying to understand aspects of a phenomenon known as compensatory hypertrophy, which occurs in bilaterally symmetric organs of the endocrine system and involves unilateral damage and subsequent contralateral hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Many species have evolved this capability as means of achieving normal physiological function in the absence of one of these paired organs. Not only am I very excited about this study and extremely appreciative to have the opportunity to be participating in the Haas program, I’ve learned to keep my head up in the face of defeat – and to ALWAYS have a plan B.
