Details from 4 Vanderbilt Students about their DAAD-RISE Internships at Leipzig
[by Ross Barajas, Aaron Coonley, Deanna Joe, and Dan Viox] Germany is a country with a rich history and a thriving culture, a leader in scientific discoveries, and a desired destination for many, including four undergraduate students from Vanderbilt University.
Through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), we each applied for Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) internships in the winter of 2009. We were awarded scholarships to the University of Leipzig, a university with which Vanderbilt University already has an established collaboration. Over our stay of three months, we were able to develop extensive research skills, learning and working under our mentors—Ph.D. candidates at the university. Ross Barajas worked with Stephan Theisgen in the laboratory of Dr. Daniel Huster. His project attempted to determine the calcium free form of the Guanylate Cyclase-Activating Protein (GCAP) 2. Aaron Coonley worked with the Chair for Environmental Technology and Environmental Management on two projects which focused on the Revitalization of Urban River Spaces. Deanna Joe worked in the laboratory of Annette Beck-Sickinger, under the mentorship of Cornelia Walther. Her project focused on the membrane targeting and internalization of the Neuropeptide Y (NPY) Transmembrane Receptor, specifically on the hY2 receptor. Lastly, Dan Viox also worked in Annette’s laboratory, but he researched with Xavier Pedragosa Badia on structural information of the human Y4 receptor (hY4R), which is a G protein-coupled receptor.
We all gained hands-on experience, learned new experimental techniques and concepts, and attended lectures and group meetings to gain a better perspective on our respective fields.
Though we worked full-time, there was always time to explore Leipzig in the evenings and Germany and other European countries on the weekends. Situated in eastern Germany, Leipzig is a beautiful city, the home of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and the location of the Monday demonstrations—the most prominent mass protest against the East German regime. At the Auerbachs Keller—a restaurant once frequented by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe—we rubbed the shoe of Faust’s statue for good luck. We enjoyed picnics at the Völkerschlachdenktmal—the tallest monument in Europe and a landmark remembering Napoleon’s Battle of the Nations. For every game that Germany played in the World Cup, we cheered with the rest of the country at bars, restaurants, and public viewing locations. We took advantage of the Deutsche Bahn—Germany’s efficient train system—arriving in Berlin in an hour, and the Black Forest, which is at the opposite end of the country, in as little as six hours. Destinations outside of Germany included Prague, Salzburg, and Paris. We planned all of these activities with other RISE students and our German suitemates—friends we grew very close to and still stay in touch with.
The experiences we individually and collectively had were amazing. Having the opportunity to work in a research lab is a rare occurrence for graduate students and professors—let alone undergraduates. We would not have wanted to spend our summers any other way. Thank you, Professor Jens Meiler and Professor Annette Beck-Sickinger, for your help through the application process and assistance during our stay in Leizpig. The knowledge we gained this summer about German culture and our research is invaluable and will remain with us forever.