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Catherine Yu shares her experience of the the International Internship Program program at the Florey.

9/8/2019

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This week, Catherine Yu shares her  experiences of working at the University of Sheffield MBB department and the Florey Institute over the summer as part of Princeton University's the International Internship Program. 
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​This summer, I have had the immense pleasure of interning at the University of Sheffield for eight weeks, through a joint effort between the Florey Institute and the Princeton University IIP (International Internship Program). Under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph Kirk, I have been studying the antibiotic resistant pathogen, Clostridium difficile, and attempting to understand its molecular structure and function in the context of host-pathogen interactions.                                                                           Me enjoying  chips on the Brighton pier 

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This topic has been personally interesting to me because even before the start of my internship, I was aware of C. diff's notorious reputation in U.S. hospitals and the topic had been briefly covered in my molecular genetics course at Princeton. My project centered on studying a putative peptidoglycan deacetylase that has yet to be characterized, but is known to have altered expression in C. diff strains with mutant S-layers. I mostly worked on creating a C. diff lacking the CD 2679 gene, in order to study its effects in both a wild-type and S-layer mutant C. diff strain. Additionally, I worked on cloning a fluorescent tag to CD 2679 in order to study sub-cellular localization. 
Taking a walk on the London Tower Bridge

Outside of the lab, I have been fortunate to have the time to travel on the weekends with my fellow intern, Julia Edgar, who was working in the Dr Turner's lab. Throughout our 8-week placement, we made trips to Dublin, the Peak District National Park, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, and Brighton and Hove. While most of our trips were quite brief, spanning only the time of the two days of a weekend, I feel immensely grateful for the experience to travel to such a variety of places. Although I have since returned home to the states, I will always look backfondly on these 8 weeks and am especially grateful to Dr. Rebecca Corrigan and Princeton University for making it happen.    

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  Exploring the Howth Cliff Walk, just outside of Dublin city center. 
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A Farewell and Thank You to our International Intern Students from Princeton University.

2/8/2019

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​The Florey Institute at the University of Sheffield has been hosting students from the International Internship Program over the summer months. This program is an opportunity for students from Princeton University to take part in internships across the world. Our students have been working hard and Julia Edgar has taken some time to tell us about her experiences of the UK.
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It’s hard to believe that 8 weeks have already whizzed by from my time here in Sheffield. This was my first time traveling to the UK and I was very excited to start a new adventure in a country high on my bucket list. This summer I had the fortunate opportunity to work in Dr. Claire Turner’s research lab at the University of Sheffield, a part of The Florey Institute. The small but close-knit lab group were all so welcoming. I can’t be more thankful for their time and kindness they have showed while teaching me about their work and numerous new laboratory techniques. I have throughly enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside PhD student, Alex Remmington, on a project looking at a dynamic phage-like chromosomal island in Group A Streptococcus pyogenes.

There was never a dull moment spent in the lab conducting various experiments thanks to Alex’s eclectic playlists of Stevie Nicks, Celine Dion and Bollywood hits. I know I will dearly miss the office chats, group debrief moments when experiments go awry, and the Krebs Cafe cookies. I have learned an abundance of practical and conceptual knowledge and gained a new confidence in the lab all thanks to the absolute wonderful people of the Turner Lab. I am excited to apply all that I’ve learned to my own third year project and senior thesis back at Princeton.

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Away from the lab I have enjoyed living with the other two Princeton students also in Sheffield and doing a bit of traveling. Our gracious Air BnB host has made the experience much closer to a homestay with weekly group grocery store trips, a traditional Sunday roast and evening chats about our home countries’ similarities and contrasts. My weekends have been busy as I’ve had the chance to travel to various near-by cities to visit other friends and discover new places! The trips have included a coastal hike outside of Dublin, afternoon tea in London, castle exploring in Edinburgh, seaside strolls in Brighton, and all The Royal Family connections I could fit in! When I have stayed in Sheffield I spent time exploring the city centre and hiking in the Peak District.
As I reflect back on my experience I am extremely grateful for all the kind people I have met, cities I’ve seen, and newly possessed knowledge I can take with me as I return for my third year at Princeton. Before it has even ended I have begun to miss this summer of a lifetime. Thank you very much to the Turner Lab and all that made this experience possible.
 
Julia

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