Life Sciences & Genomics Division Diversity: Internship Opportunities

Educator Experiences: Suzanne Nitta

While attending California State University, Fresno I became a member of the FCEPT program (Fresno Collaborative for the Excellence in the Preparation of Teaching). This program informed us about the Pre-Service Teaching program at Berkeley Lab. Since I obtained my BS in Biology and I am interested in teaching Life Science/Biology they placed me with Tamas Torok in the Life Sciences Division.

Q: What you are learning in the lab?
I am essentially learning how to identify fungal organisms collected from extreme environments by using DNA sequencing techniques. I am learning how to grow the fungal organisms, extract the genomic DNA, and PCR amplify a portion of the rRNA coding sequences. The PCR products will be sequenced at the Berkeley Sequencing facility and then I will learn how to edit and annotate the sequences. A computer database will be eventually used to find out what these organisms are.

Q: How this experience is helping you in your career development?
While here at the LBNL I am in the PST program which will help me connect teaching science to my research experience in the lab with Tamas Torok. I can then use this real life experience to help my students understand scientific ideas and concepts that relate to the outside world.

Q: Where are do you intend to go from here?
Right now I am in the process of getting an teaching internship in Visalia, CA where I am from. If all goes well I should be teaching middle school or high school by August. Hopefully I can use this experience to get my students excited about this field and lead them into thinking about a possible career in science. I have always been enthusiastic about science, but now I can actually say I participated in some pretty significant research which may become something big in the future.

Q: Anything else you would like to share about the experience?
This experience has been wonderful so far. I am working with some of the most brilliant and amazing scientists. Tamas has been a great mentor to myself and everyone else working in our lab. I learn something new everyday. I couldn't have asked for a better or more fulfilling way to spend this summer.


	Educator Experiences: Suzanne Nitta While attending California State University, Fresno I became a member of the FCEPT program (Fresno Collaborative for the Excellence in the Preparation of Teaching). This program informed us about the Pre-Service Teaching program at Berkeley Lab. Since I obtained my BS in Biology and I am interested in teaching Life Science/Biology they placed me with Tamas Torok in the Life Sciences Division. Q: What you are learning in the lab? I am essentially learning how to identify fungal organisms collected from extreme environments by using DNA sequencing techniques. I am learning how to grow the fungal organisms, extract the genomic DNA, and PCR amplify a portion of the rRNA coding sequences. The PCR products will be sequenced at the Berkeley Sequencing facility and then I will learn how to edit and annotate the sequences. A computer database will be eventually used to find out what these organisms are. Q: How this experience is helping you in your career development? While here at the LBNL I am in the PST program which will help me connect teaching science to my research experience in the lab with Tamas Torok. I can then use this real life experience to help my students understand scientific ideas and concepts that relate to the outside world. Q: Where are do you intend to go from here? Right now I am in the process of getting an teaching internship in Visalia, CA where I am from. If all goes well I should be teaching middle school or high school by August. Hopefully I can use this experience to get my students excited about this field and lead them into thinking about a possible career in science. I have always been enthusiastic about science, but now I can actually say I participated in some pretty significant research which may become something big in the future. Q: Anything else you would like to share about the experience? This experience has been wonderful so far. I am working with some of the most brilliant and amazing scientists. Tamas has been a great mentor to myself and everyone else working in our lab. I learn something new everyday. I couldn't have asked for a better or more fulfilling way to spend this summer.