Reflection on Journal Club

WHOOO done with journal club!! :DD

Honestly though, I really enjoyed it. The paper I chose was on constructing logic gates in biological systems. Logic gates in synthetic biology was an area I have been interested in for a while, but haven't had the chance to explore it. The journal club presentation helped me figure out what logic gates in biology look like as I dug deep into how logic gates are constructed in E. Coli.

I'm also pretty lucky that I don't get too nervous before a presentation--speech and debate in high school really drilled the nerves out of me. Giving a scientific presentation is a different beast than debating a particular issue though--a complete understanding of the paper is a must. Can't BS your way though a journal club presentation like you could when arguing about US policy in Iraq.

The best part of the whole thing was definitely the audience. It was great presenting in front of people that really care. You know that feeling when you're trying to talk to someone when you're trying to say something, and they just keep texting? Or when you're trying to present, and you get this:

Not so in 109. Before the presentation, I was really apprehensive about the Q&A. What if someone asks me something I can't answer? But after the presentation, I realized that I really appreciate the questions. Even if I don't know the answer, the questions show that people were listening to what I've been preparing for a while. Plus, we all have the same goal: trying to understand and appreciate the cutting-edge research. No more fear of journal clubs. They're actually quite fun and enlightening.