Inside the Neuroscience Lab: How Core Lab is Shaping My Research Journey

Posted on by Angel Toasakul
This picture depicts the setup of crayfish dissection with the microscope positioned on top of the dissection, light source attached to the headstage on the right, and electrode coming in from the left.
Extracellular recording of crayfish nerve

For most STEM majors at Princeton, one of the requirements is a course known informally as Core Lab. This class aims to equip students with laboratory skills required to succeed as a scientist in the field. It is usually composed of two 3-hour labs and one lecture per week. As a neuroscience major, I am currently taking NEU 350: Laboratory in Principles of Neuroscience, a class designed to introduce students to modern methods of analyzing neural activity—from the level of single neurons to large-scale networks underlying cognition. The course covers a range of techniques, including intracellular and extracellular recordings, optogenetics, EEG, and fMRI. After weeks of conducting designed experiments, it culminates in an independent research project where students design and conduct their own experiments based on knowledge and skills learned throughout the semester.

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Demystifying Big Data: An Introduction to Some Useful Data Operation Tools

Posted on by Advik Eswaran
A sample image of computer code that works with data
A sample image of computer code that works with data. Photo credit: Markus Spiske.

“Big data” and “data science” are some of the buzzwords of our era, perhaps second only to “machine learning” or “artificial intelligence.” In our globalized, Internet-ized society of plentiful information galore, data has become perhaps the most important commodity of all. Across all kinds of academic disciplines, working with large amounts of data has become a necessity: universities and corporations advertise positions for “data scientists,” and media outlets warn ominously of the privacy risks associated with the rise of “big data.”

This isn’t an article that discusses the broader, societal implications of “big data,” although I highly encourage all readers to learn more about this important topic. Instead, I’m here purely to provide you some (hopefully) broadly applicable tips to working with large amounts of data in any academic context.

In my own field of climate science, data is paramount: researchers work with gigantic databases and arrays containing millions of elements (e.g., how different climate variables, such as temperature or precipitation, change over both space and time). But data, and opportunities for working with data, are present in every field, from operations research to history. Below is an overview of some existing data operation tools that can hopefully assist you on your budding data science career!

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A Guide to Poster-Making

Posted on by Rebecca Cho

You’ve finished a research project and now you’re on to the final step: presenting your work! It’s time to share the incredible work you’ve done with the general public, and one of the best ways to do so is to create a poster conveying the significance and conclusions of your research. This will be an essential skill during your time at Princeton whether for a course or as a part of your junior and senior independent work. If this is your first time creating a poster presentation, check this blog out! ​​

A student presenting her junior work as a poster presentation.
Sara Akiba ‘26 with her poster presentation on “Foraminifera-bound δ13C as a Paleo CO2 Proxy: Methods Testing” for the Geosciences Junior Poster Presentations! If you want a poster as great as hers, continue reading below for some advice.
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A Quick Guide to Writing a Funding Proposal

Posted on by Rebecca Cho
A student typing on a computer.
This could be you working passionately on your funding proposal using the tips in this guide! Photo credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters.

After having discovered a potential funding opportunity, you might be reading the requirements for the application and find that you need to write a “research proposal” as a part of the application. This might be your first time writing a funding proposal. Here are a few tips to assist you in writing your funding proposal!

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Proven Tips on How to Read Scientific Literature

Posted on by Gabriel Ascoli
A printed article with yellow highlighting under a blue pen with the hands of the person reading and annotating.
A person reads and annotates an article printout. Photo Credit: Y.Arcurs/iStockphoto

In our undergraduate years, as we get involved with research and science, it can be incredibly overwhelming to read scientific literature. It’s easy to drown in hundreds of thousands of articles with fancy-sounding titles, pages and pages of complex writings, and dozens of figures that you have no idea what they mean. However, reading scientific literature is a necessary skill to have, and you must be able to understand what scientists know, and what they don’t. 

Therefore, I’ve created a list of tips and advice to tackle scientific literature as an undergraduate. Follow my advice, and you’re on your way to impress your supervisors with your knowledge, and create a nuanced understanding of where your research lies within the body of knowledge that scientists have been cultivating!

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A Hidden iGem at Princeton

Posted on by Stanley Stoutamire, Jr.
Dowon Seo '27 stands center frame holding a microphone, in front of a presentation screen describing quorum sensing. Besides him are members of the iGem team.
Dowon Seo ’27 presenting Research in Paris, France. Photo courtesy of Dowon Seo.

Princeton offers a wealth of opportunities to engage in undergraduate research. From smaller projects found in writing seminars to the ever-looming senior thesis, research is woven throughout our academic journeys. Still, outside of this mandatory exposure to research there are also unique opportunities to explore research as an undergraduate. One of the most interesting of these is the Princeton iGem team. I was able to sit down to speak with a member of this year’s team, Dowon Seo ‘27, after he returned from the annual iGem conference in Paris.

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To Ph.D. or Not to Ph.D.: An Interview with Microbiology Ph.D. Candidate Ciara Sanders

Posted on by Haya Elamir
Showing the person I interviewed to add a face to the name and words

Headshot of Ciara Sanders, Ph.D. student. Photo credit: Ciara Sanders.

For this post, I decided to ask third-year Ph.D. student Ciara Sanders in Dr. Brooks Lab here at Princeton about her experience in molecular biology graduate school. She hails from California and is currently carrying out microbiology research for her Ph.D. For students considering molecular biology research/Ph.D. as a career, these questions may help answer any concerns you have, especially since medical school seems to be the popular option for molecular biology majors.  

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Harmonizing Research and A Cappella: How Music Fuels My Scientific Journey

Posted on by Nathan Nguyen
Photo of the members of the Princeton Footnotes in the year 2024-2025, taken at Rocky courtyard
Photo of the Footnotes, Princeton’s fresh low-voice a cappella group founded in 1959

Imagine standing in front of a big audience, heart racing, ready to blend your voice with others and hit the notes of an intricate a cappella arrangement. Every beat, every breath, is crucial. Every time I stand on stage or under an arch with my a cappella group, the Princeton Footnotes, I think of how similar singing and music feels to what I do in the lab. You might be thinking that singing in an a cappella group and doing research are worlds apart. However, these two passions have formed a bond in ways that I never believed possible. In fact, the creativity, collaboration, and discipline I have channeled in being a part of the Footnotes have made me a better researcher—and vice versa. 

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A Quick Guide to Securing Funding

Posted on by Rebecca Cho
This photo shows a student working in lab with his mentor.
A student working in a lab, potentially on a research project for their senior work that would greatly benefit from funding! Photo credit: Nick Donnoli.

You’ve brainstormed a great idea for your research project. You have the details of your topic all figured out, but you need some assistance with figuring out the logistics of the financial aspects that come with your great idea.  

If that’s you, here’s a quick guide on one way of securing funding as a Princeton student! 

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More than Just Building Toy Cars: A Conversation with Jeremy Kiil ’24 about Car Lab

Posted on by Alexis Wu
Portrait of a young man with short brown hair, a blue checkered dress shirt, smiling warmly at the camera in front of Nassau Hall.
Jeremy Kiil is an alum from the Class of 2024 who majored in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He now works as a power engineer at Qualcomm in Raleigh, NC. While at Princeton, he was a member of Princeton Racing Electric, a worship leader in Princeton Christian Fellowship, and Vice President of Colonial Club.

At Princeton, I’ve formed close friendships with students across all years and departments, witnessing their challenges, hard work, and achievements, from difficult courses to their independent work and senior theses. When my friends often name-drop courses from their departments and share exciting insights from their day, I realize I haven’t taken many of those classes myself. This realization sparked a desire to generate deeper conversations about their academic interests, even if I don’t fully grasp all the technical details and concepts of their field.

One of these conversations was with Jeremy Kiil ‘24 about his experience in ‘Car Lab’ (formally, ECE 302: Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab), a required course for all ECE juniors. To my surprise, our conversation wasn’t focused on the nitty-gritty details about hardware components. Instead, Jeremy shared insights applicable to all students. I found his advice on making consistent progress, staying resilient, and taking care of oneself as wonderful reminders for everyone. Inspired by our conversation, I wanted to document and share it with a broader audience.

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