My name is Barrett and I’m a sophmore Biochemistry major. My freshman year, like for many others, was quite a rollercoaster. From classes of four hundred plus to piling amounts of homework, college life didn’t seem like all it had been hyped up to be. Thankfully, I made the decision at the very last second (literally 15 minutes before the application deadline) to join the FRI, which has served as my saving grace in my time at UT. Now the FRI may be great, but once you’ve completed your first introductory semester you reach a point where you have a great many stream options in front of you, but I can assure you DIY Diagnostics is the best. It quite literally means “Do It Yourself” diagnostics & the goal of the stream is to create at home diagnostic tests ranging from industrial applications to healthcare oriented tests.
The DIY Diagnostic stream is a relatively new stream. What does this mean for you? You have the opportunity to help mold a lab that will remain at UT far after your graduation. I know from my first semester in the DIY diagnostics lab that students have far more independence in the topics they pursue as compared to other labs. For example, I have always been interested in chemistry. With the recent legalization of marijuana I noticed that there lacked an efficient, easy & cheap test to test for marijuana strength and contaminants. I did plenty of research on the subject and proposed an idea to Tim Riedel, the stream leader, who was more than excited to jump on board. It was this enthusiasm, this primal scientific curiosity and drive that exudes from every corner of the lab that has made my time in the DIY Diagnostic stream so enjoyable.
I didn’t actually end up working with Marijuana, due to complex legal issues, but I did extend my idea to other mixtures to which I could legally test. We eventually decided upon measuring the levels of cholesterol in earwax. The reason behind this is because there is a hypothesis that earwax cholesterol levels are a better representation of overall cholesterol health than readily fluctuating blood levels. I even got a summer internship at UT out of all this where I was able to work on my own project all summer! I’am still currently working on this very project and hope to finish it up this fall! I hope you decide to join the DIY Diagnostic stream, and even if not, that you really enjoy your time in the FRI. There is nothing more exciting and rewarding then running a succesful experiment after hundreds of failed ones. Doing research has made me become invested in my schoolwork. I now look forward to organic chemistry in hopes that maybe I will learn something that will help me with my project!
Once you get involved academically in a subject you are very interested in, school becomes less of a job and more of a hobby, something that you can enjoy. The DIY Diagnostics stream is very exciting, and much progress has been made in the sole year of its existence, and it needs your help to continue! Pursue the ideas that interest you in an environment conducive to learning, innovation & discovery. Personally, there has been no experience of mine thus far that has came close to rivaling that of which I’ve had with Tim & the DIY Diagnostics team. I hope to see you at our open house in the fall!