From doing research to becoming a researcher

When Kate DiNucci came to the University of Washington, she knew right away that she wanted to get involved in research, but she wasn’t sure how.

She asked her neuroscience adviser, who told her to start reaching out to faculty who were working on projects she might find interesting. 

Four years later, DiNucci, who studied neuroscience and bioethics, wrapped up her fourth Undergraduate Research Symposium presentation. DiNucci graduated last spring with Departmental Honors. 

In her most recent research, DiNucci looked at how human breast milk can be used to treat brain injuries associated with extreme prematurity, or babies born before 28 weeks of gestation. At the same time, she worked within a neonatal intensive care unit to administer clinical trials to see if what she is researching in the lab is actually working with real patients. 

For DiNucci, also a Levinson Emerging Scholar, research was critical for her growth as a student, a scientist and a person. We sat down with DiNucci to hear more about how research shaped her UW undergraduate experience and prepared her for what might come next. 

The responses have been edited for length and clarity. 

 

 

How did you first become involved with research at the UW?    

I came to college interested in science and medicine and neuroscience from exposure that I had in high school, but no one in my family was in the medical field. My understanding of research was a very abstract thing. I had no firsthand research experience, but I had heard that research was an important thing — not only for going into the medical field, but even just as a neuroscience major at UW. I reached out to my neuroscience adviser and talked with him about ways to get involved in research. He recommended looking at the neuroscience faculty and reaching out to people who had projects that I might find interesting. I ended up cold emailing a bunch of different labs, and one of them was the Neonatal Neuroscience Lab. It really took off from there in a way that I never could have expected.

You’ve presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium all four years of your undergraduate years. What led to the decision to be involved every year?

Sharing my research has been one of my favorite parts about the work. The research itself is incredibly rewarding. Being a part of creating new knowledge — quite literally answering questions that no one has answered before — is really great, but then you want to share that with people. You spend all this time answering questions, creating new knowledge, and then what are you going to do with that? You want other people to care about your field just as much as you do.

I really understood that for the first time by presenting at the Undergraduate Research Symposium as a freshman. As you’re preparing to talk about a project that you spent all year working on, it allows you to reflect upon your own progress. You now are able to talk through concepts that were potentially completely foreign to you before the project even started. You have now developed a deep personal passion for this project, and you get to convince someone else to care about that, too. And then you get so many other curious people who have great questions that can be a jumping-off point for your next project, which is really exciting.

What are some of the things you learned from presenting all four years?

The most important thing is learning how to talk about my research to people from all educational backgrounds or specialties. You really get that at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. You have people with zero background knowledge of your project, and being able to modulate your explanations to fit a wide range of audience members is incredibly important. 

It also really inspired me to think bigger with my projects. Every time I was presenting, I was also an audience member. I got to go to other people’s posters and talks and learn about these really interesting new projects. It made me think, “Well, what if what if we could do something like that in the lab? Maybe this could be a new project for me to chase next year.”

Why do you feel that the Symposium is an important opportunity that students should take advantage of while at the UW?

It can be really easy to underappreciate the research that we have here at UW. We get accustomed to the fact that there are so many research opportunities, but it is such a unique privilege of being a student at this school. There is always something to learn, and it doesn’t matter how far along you are in your career or your classes, there’s going to be something really insightful to learn. There are quite literally thousands of students doing cutting-edge research here at UW, and so you will learn something new from your peers, and you’ll get inspired for what might come next for you. 

I’ve really appreciated how UW, especially at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, integrates different disciplines, like visual media and performance art, into research. It shows that research isn’t just one thing. I think everyone should go and especially seek out sessions that are not in your wheelhouse.

When you think about the first time you presented four years ago to your most recent presentation, how have you seen yourself evolve?

The way that I’ve thought about research has really changed a lot. When I started out, I felt very much as though research was something that I was doing, but it wasn’t part of who I was. Now, as a senior, I don’t feel like I do research. I feel as though I am a researcher. It is a core part of my identity and a core part of my experience at the University of Washington.

As a freshman, I think there was certainly some imposter syndrome and feeling like I was so young. One of my favorite quotes that my supervisor has posted in the lab is, “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research.” Now, as a senior, I know that there will be mistakes and questions and confusion along the way. That’s the point. That’s really part of it. Such a real part of being a researcher is being confused. Now, that’s not something that I’m embarrassed about. That’s really the whole point.

What’s your advice to students who want to get involved with research but might not know how?

Start by asking yourself what you’re interested in. The downside of having so many research opportunities at UW is that if you don’t have a specific area in mind, it’s going to be a lot more difficult and confusing. So, truly think about what gets you excited, what you’re curious about, what you wish you had more answers to. For a lot of students, this can start in class and with your professors. If you find that you’re walking out of your biochemistry class or your anthropology class with so much excitement and questions that you want to talk to your peers about, that’s really the best sign. 

If you came in and knew that you wanted to do something specific, look up your department’s directory and find professors that are engaging with research. Then, think critically and do some introspection. Think, “Which of these projects actually sounds interesting to me?” The projects that you’ll get the most fulfillment out of are the ones that you’re passionate about. 

There are a plethora of opportunities. The question is finding the one that is right for you, and that you’re going to be excited about, even when it’s hard and confusing.

What do you want students who might be thinking about presenting at the Symposium to know?

I certainly would not want students to feel intimidated by it. A potentially common misconception is that you need to be an upperclassman, or you need to have had multiple years of experience before you are eligible to present. That’s really just not the case at all. Looking at my path, I presented at the Symposium after working in my research lab for only about six months or so. I think if you have a project that you want to share with people, the Symposium is the place for you.

Bring the idea of presenting to your research mentors, work together, use those resources within your research experience to find the path towards either a new project or building up a current project into something that you can present. Once you get there, everyone’s just excited. It’s not this competitive upperclassman opportunity. It’s an event where everyone from the University is coming together, because we all care about research.

What’s next for you? 

I’m currently in the process of applying to medical schools and M.D.-Ph.D. programs, so that I can work as both a physician and also as a researcher and run my own lab one day. In the meantime, while I’m waiting to hear back about my applications, I’ll be living in Boston and doing research at Northeastern University on kids and young adults with profound neurodevelopmental disabilities to try to understand the way that they communicate and interact with the world.

As you’re thinking about those next steps, what are some specific skills or experiences you gained while a UW undergrad researcher that will be particularly helpful? 

There’s obviously the hard skills of being able to do a biochemical assay or do bench work. But I think more critically is being able to engage in the soft skills of research presentation and sharing and advocating for research. As a physician, but also someone looking at an academic career as a scientist, I will continue to share my research — not just with my peers, but also to a new generation of scientists. 

I think that’s incredibly important in the field of science, because the only way that anyone enters this field is because someone came before them and had the kindness to pass on their knowledge. I have been the recipient of that over and over again in my classes and with my mentors in my lab. I’m really excited to be on the other side of that. Through things like the Undergraduate Research Symposium and mentorship in my lab, I’ve started to build up the skills and capacity to act in that leadership role.

 

About the Office of Undergraduate Research

The Office of Undergraduate Research is the central hub at the UW for research opportunities for undergraduate students, providing them with experience, scholarships and support to become passionate researchers and lifelong learners.