Summer in the Lab

Anam Adil knew she wanted to do research her second year at Illinois Tech. So she reached out to Professor of Biology Jialing Xiang because the cancer research in Xiang's lab was appealing. Xiang helped Anam receive a Summer Research Stipend in 2019.

"I learned a lot from the graduate students in the lab," Anam says. "I was totally lost at the beginning and had no idea about most of the scientific content they were talking about. But I picked it up pretty fast, and I started to understand more each day."

Working in a lab is a very intense challenge. Anam says she had to learn all the techniques in a short time, to perform experiments, and to present results at a lab meeting every week.

"Working with the lab team members is enjoyable and fun," she says. "We help each other, eat lunch together, and celebrate birthdays together. We share the struggles and joys just like a family. My mom even cooked us a big tray of biryani for our lunch one day, and everybody loved it!"