My 10 week internship project's goal was to produce a new protocol for the Introductory Biology Laboratory by analyzing new data as well as building on the current laboratory procedure. The current process outlines an analysis of the gene for the small ribosomal subunit, labeled 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA in prokaryotes and eukaryotes respectively. The new procedure extended this analysis of the gene for the small ribosomal subunit in copying the gene, inserting it into a plasmid and ultimately sequencing the gene coding for the rRNA. It was fashioned by attaining new data and experimenting with systematic procedures. Moreover, the development of an enhanced protocol necessitates the discovery of useful websites and tools for computational data comparisons. Dr. Tamara Davis and Wilfred Franklin were my mentors and supervisers for the protocol development and experimentation, which were performed in the introductory and Dr. Davis’s research laboratories.

The experience I gained through this intership affirmed that I enjoyed teaching biology to other students. I also found that I enjoyed developing a new laboratory protocol, which demanded both experimentation and discourse.