This summer we're profiling recipients of summer undergraduate research fellowships to learn about their academic interests and glance into their daily lives as undergraduate researchers.

Today we're speaking with MCB senior Garrett Barksdale, a member of the Wilfred van der Donk lab and a 2024 recipient of the William T. and Lynn Jackson Summer Research Fellowship. 

Why did you decide to apply for a fellowship?
I wanted to continue working on my research from the semester, and having the monetary support to stay on campus allowed me to do that. I had a fellowship last summer as well and it was a very positive experience.

How did you get involved in Dr. van der Donk’s lab?
One of my TAs was an undergraduate researcher in the lab, and he helped get me a job as a lab technician. I did that for a semester, and then I got to join the lab as a researcher under one of the graduate students.

Tell us about your research interests and what you’re working on this summer.
Our lab does natural product research with lanthipeptides, which are a type of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides, or RiPPs. The enzymes we study post-translationally modify these peptides. Right now, I’m testing enzyme variants and reaction rates with certain enzymes.

What does an average day look like for you?
My days vary a lot, but I do have a little bit of a process. I’ll start by transforming e. Coli cells with the plasmids that will express the enzyme variants, and then I will express enzymes, purify them out and purify out the substrate. After all that prep work I can run reactions and see how the products are prepared and analyze them using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. It can take a couple of weeks to get to a point where I have useful data to analyze.

What do you hope to gain from this experience?
I want to learn skills and techniques from the lab that I can transfer to future endeavors. I also just look forward to experiencing a lab environment, so I can figure out what I might be getting myself into in the future.

What are your career or academic goals?
Eventually I’d like to go to grad school. In a perfect world, I think going into academia and having my own lab would be cool. For now, I’m thinking about jobs in industry.

Do you have any advice for other undergraduates who would like to get involved in research?
Instead of waiting for specific times before or after the semester to email faculty members, reach out whenever you feel ready. The worst a professor can do is say no or just not respond. Also, be aware of nontraditional opportunities that could allow you to connect with a lab. It might seem like cold emailing is the only path, but you could be like me and start as a lab tech.

How do you like to spend your free time?
After a long day in the lab, I love going back to my apartment and taking a nap. I also like playing video games and spending time with my five cats.