#whyIcellbio by Mai Ly Tran

How did you end up in the Cell Bio dept?

Started my PhD in Munich (Germany) and came here after my lab moved to the US. Since May 2019 I work in the Cell Bio Department as a Visiting Assistant in Research on my PhD project just like a normal graduate student.

How/When did you discover that you liked science?

Phenomena I could not explain were always intriguing to me. At the same time a logic and well proven answer to problems satisfied me. This started already in my childhood as seeing leaves changing their color in autumn or sugar caramelization while cooking. In High school I enjoyed Chemistry with their colorful complex reactions stayed close to this track during my studies.

What is special about your lab culture?

We are not only colleagues, but friends and comrades exploring the world of trafficking together. My lab also works very closely with the neighboring lab even though our project are not similar. Discussions range from protocol exchange, experimental help but also personal daily life matters. We frequently connected over drinks and foods, which makes the atmosphere were comfortable.

What is your favorite Organelle/Macromolecule/method and why?

My favorite Organelle is the Golgi Apparatus, because my work focuses on it...and maybe because it reminds me of a stack of pancakes :). I have a love-hate relationship to Co-immunoprecipitation. It is such strong tool and can provide distinct results, not completely black and white, but clearer than other methods..If it would just would not be sometimes quite a struggle to get it to work with all controls.

What would you like to do if you had more free time?

Spend more time with expanding my hobbies (baking, cooking, badminton) to a more professional level and ultimately spending more time with my loved ones. Maybe also read more papers...does it count as free time then though?