Upon arriving in Philadelphia after a tiring 7-hour flight, both of us were greeted in the arrivals hall of Philadelphia airport by our respective families and brought to the homes where we would live for the next five weeks. Both families had sons attending a Jesuit high school called St. Joseph’s Preparatory school, or “The Prep” as it is otherwise known. Michael and I lived with the Dehel and Pedichino families, respectively.
Two days later, and in the middle of a large heat wave, which we were definitely not used to, we arrived for the first time at the University of Pennsylvania. The campus itself if huge, and getting to know it took a few days. (The western side of Philadelphia is aptly named “University City”) After filling out the necessary paperwork we were brought to the eighth floor of the Medical Research Building, where we would be working for the rest of our time in Philadelphia. We were working in the lab of Professor Garret A. Fitzgerald, M.D. (O.B.’68), who is the head of the Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics (ITMAT) at the University.
When we arrived, two doctors who work with Dr. Fitzgerald, Tilo and Susanna, greeted us, and showed us the lab for the first time. Walking into the lab for was an unforgettable experience, as we didn’t know what to expect. The place we walked into was like nothing we could have ever imagined – racks upon racks of lab coats, cabinets full of chemicals stored in glass bottles, and hundreds of scientific pipettes – these were just a few of the things we took in within the first few moments.
The main objective of the lab is pharmaceutical development. During our time there, we were introduced to the lab’s main aim – To study how various drugs work on the human body, and how to develop them from just an idea into the final product. This involves studying the human genome and seeing how it reacts to various chemicals. A lot of the study that we were involved in was relating to the cardiovascular system.
The work that we did involved shadowing various groups, who were related to the overall project in various ways, and trying to understand how the whole project works as a whole. Each group had a variety of different jobs to do, and both of us studied the theory behind these processes as we did them. While some of the more advanced concepts may have gone over our heads, everyone whom we worked with really helped us to gain an understanding of what it was that they were doing.
We saw and assisted in many different types of experiments, ranging from the weighing of mice to basic chromatography of different substances. The first challenge for us when doing an experiment was to understand why the experiment was being done, usually by studying background articles and discussing with our supervisors. The next step was to familiarise ourselves with the procedure and understand what everything did and how it came together. After seeing how the experiment was done, we would sometimes be allowed to carry out similar tests ourselves. We found patience to be of important value here, but getting to do some of the processes ourselves really helped us understand what was going on and made us feel like part of the process.
Although the lab work was a huge part of the experience, there was far more to it than that. Everyday when we got home, we would experience life in America with our families. This would range from watching TV, to going out with them on the weekends to take in the various sights of Philadelphia and the surrounding area, including New York. We were also in America for the fourth of July, which was an unforgettable experience. We cannot thank both our families enough for the kindness and accommodation that we were shown during our time in America.
We’d like to thank Mr. Foley, Ms. Brennan, Mr. Colohan and the Science Department for giving the two of us such a fantastic opportunity. We’d also like to thank Professor Garret Fitzgerald, Tilo, Susanne, Cathal, Claire and everyone else at the lab for making ours such a fantastic experience, and especially the Dehel and Pedichino families for welcome us into their homes for five weeks and making the trip truly unforgettable.
Our experience for the five weeks was a truly amazing and inspiring one. We cannot thank all those involved enough, and would recommend that any current transition year who have an interest in science, to know about the scholarship and to consider applying for it.