TLRO Undergraduate Students Reflect on Summer Experience

Kyra Kent; R – Harjeev Singh
Kyra Kent; R – Harjeev Singh

Two Mizzou undergraduate students are grateful for the positive experience they have gained after working in the Thompson Laboratory for Regenerative Orthopaedics at the Missouri Orthopaedics Institute (MOI) this past summer.

“This summer research opportunity was an invaluable experience that has helped me strengthen my research abilities and confidence in conducting a research project from beginning to end,” said Harjeev Singh, a Cherngs Summer Scholar and junior at Mizzou pursuing his undergraduate degree in Biological Science.

Singh was one of two students working in the lab over the summer. Kyra Kent, a Mizzou senior studying human biology, said she decided to spend her summer working in the lab because she enjoyed research, learning, and practicing new ideas.

“I also wanted more lab exposure, [and] being placed in the TLRO was far better than I could have imagined,” said Kent.

During their time, Kent received the opportunity to be part of a project that researched the effect of compressive load frequency on the metabolic response of intervertebral discs using an ex vivo culture model. Singh, on the other hand, got the chance to analyze different radiographic scoring systems and was part of the research that evaluated significant differences in biomarker concentrations between patient cohorts.

“By spending a summer in the TLRO, I am now able to better understand the day-to-day operations that occur in a research lab,” said Singh. “Moreover, this summer research opportunity was an invaluable experience that has helped me strengthen my research abilities and confidence in conducting a research project from beginning to end.”

Kent said the experience she has gained from her time working with such a close-knit team has been invaluable.

“This experience was nothing but positive for me … the lessons that I learned at TLRO will follow me for the remainder of my academic career, and for that, I am incredibly grateful,” she said. “This experience also shed light on how having an amazing lab team makes doing research that much more enjoyable. The people there were amazing and created a home away from home for me.”