Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi all,
I am looking for some advice on what to do next in terms of planning. I've been studying splicing for over a year now... about a year and a half, and I'm planning on competing in ISEF and other competitions (and the entry deadline is supposedly in mid December, which is why I am asking about this so early on). I am working at a lab now, and I'm still relatively new-- I've been there for only about one month. Nonetheless, the postdoc I am working with is starting to trust me around the lab -- he lets me do things alone (well, he actually forces me to do things alone now because it helps me learn best and gain more confidence) and I think I have a fair understanding of what I'm doing. I have finished one round of "grunge work" -- that is, lots and lots of PCR.
I had initially thought of that work as some sort of mini-project to get me familiar with the lab and how things worked, but apparently the postdoc is planning on having me just do a lot of PCR / target verification. Which brings me to this: the 'project' I am doing now (1) isn't creative, (2) isn't actually my idea, and (3) might yield good data for future analysis.
So my question is, should I try to start another project (one of my own), now that I'm more familiar with the lab procedures? ... I know that one of the criteria that judges look for at these sorts of competitions is creativity, so... I figured that in order to be remotely competitive in a fair like this, I would need to come up with my own project. (I'm fairly sure that if I did ask my postdoc to help me with a reasonable project, he would let me do my own thing.) Should I ask about doing my own project, or do you still think that I should go along with what the postdoc wants me to do? I've posted this a month or so ago, and everybody overwhelmingly advised me to go along with what the postdoc wanted me to do, but now I'm sort of at a crossroads here.

Thank you!

Hi Mikayuki, and congratulations on mastering PCR. That is a good accomplishment.

From your description of the lab conditions, it sounds like you are just being used. This is common in university research labs. The principle investigator uses graduate students and post-docs to do their work and get data so they can take it to write grants and publish papers.

My advice would be to read the literature and come up with a project that interests you and that is doable in your lab in terms of equipment, reagents, cell lines, etc. Since you said the ISEF proposals have to be in by mid-December 2018, this probably means you missed the deadline, right?

You need to do a real project, not just a bunch of PCRs to benefit someone else's research project. You might get your name on the paper but that's not very satisfying.

As I said, think about a question, preferably related to your lab's major goals--a question that is important, but which has not been answered yet. You can take an existing project or finding and extend it by looking at different cell lines, mouse models or different gene products. You will have to talk to the professor who's lab you are working in and convince them of the importance of your project. Then you will have to demonstrate that you can answer the question by doing the appropriate experiments. This is graduate level science and not high school, but it sounds like you have some experience and skills and can acquire more as needed.

The post-doc will not be happy to lose your labor but they can find someone else to do their PCRs.

Think about what you want to do related to your lab's existing project then post again with your ideas and we can talk about them. I can help you with the details, but you have to come up with the hypothesis and experimental plan. If you can do that successfully you will have gone a long ways towards winning a national science fair.

Good luck!

Sybee