Discovering lab research

University of Delaware graduate student Erikah Dozier is at home in the lab. Surrounded by an assortment of micropipettes and a gel electrophoresis apparatus, Dozier sits at her workbench. In front of her, an ice bucket containing test tubes of DNA awaits her attention.

You'd never know the graduate student in animal science got her start with laboratory work just last year when she enrolled in the UD's Thesis M.S. in Animal Science.

"Coming here, I didn't have much lab experience," Dozier said. "I didn't know how to use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines or run DNA samples on gel electrophoresis."

As she begins her second year in the program, Dozier is feeling confident.

Dozier wasn't the only graduate student new to laboratory work. Along with others in her cohort, she learned the ropes through a research assistantship. Students admitted to the Thesis M.S. in Animal Science program are supported by a research or teaching assistantship. This includes 12 months of competitive stipend support each year, a tuition waiver and access to discounted health insurance. During research assistantships, students work closely with a faculty advisor to develop and complete research related to the faculty advisor's field of study.

"My advisor, Dr. Pisano, has been really patient with me, and I have learned a lot from her," Dozier said. "I prefer this hands-on learning experience."

Dozier says courses like Veterinary Biochemistry (ANFS 475/675) taught by Aditya Dutta, assistant professor of reproductive biology, have helped her better understand the PCR work she performs in the lab.

"We learned DNA structure and the mechanism of PCR in class," Dozier said. "Double-stranded DNA separates into single strands, and primers bind and add more DNA to the strands and make many copies of the interested DNA segment."