FOCUS ON KATIE FINK
Katie Fink, one of our own peer advisors, a Neurobiology major, and an honors student, who will be graduating this fall, sat down for an interview with us on September 15. Here's what she had to say.
CHOOSING CAL AND THE MCB MAJOR
Why did you pick Cal when you were deciding on which university to attend?
I wanted to attend a really good school that is as far away from my home, in San Diego, as possible. I wanted a new experience and Berkeley is definitely offers a different experience from anywhere else. Coming here gave me the opportunity to experience the world head on.
Did you decide on pursuing a biology degree when you were in high school?
Yes, when I was in high school I had taken all the AP sciences and really learned how I think about the world and different sciences, so I knew that for me molecular was the only way to go, if I was going to do anything in biology.
How did you become interested in MCB as opposed to another biology major?
I really like to look at biology from the bottom up. I want to know how things work, what proteins are doing what and exactly how biology works at a cellular and molecular level. I think that’s the only way to really understand what’s going on. Studying biology at a larger level doesn’t resonate with me because I don’t understand how you can do that without understanding the molecular reasons behind the large-scale concepts.
What’s your favorite part of being an MCB major?
I like all the professors that are in the MCB department. They are all very passionate about what they do. They are just amazing. I am in awe of research that they are able to do and how they bring that into the classroom to teach us fundamental concepts. I don’t think I would experience such an enriched environment anywhere else. I have a hard time imagining all these brilliant minds collected in other places. It makes me feel really lucky that I’ve come here for a stupid reason (getting away from home) only to find that my instructors are just brilliant.
I’ve heard several MCB students say that there comes a point, usually in their junior year, when it occurs to them that they speak MCB. They have synthesized the information they’ve been learning and have a conceptual base for what is being taught. What is your experience with that?
That’s just what it feels like. You all of a sudden feel integrated into this web of science. You’re connecting everything. That happened to me when I took MCB 160 (Neurobiology) When we were learning about modeling neurons as circuits, the connection of physics, chemistry and biology blew my mind and after that I was thinking on so many different scientific levels and it felt amazing.
What has been your favorite MCB class so far?
MCB 165, neurochemistry, it was a really relaxed class for an MCB class. You learn a lot about many different aspects of neuro pharmacology and how it relates to people. It gave me a perspective on everyday chemistry or substances that people drink, like caffeine. Caffeine is the most abused drug. Just saying that caffeine is an abused drug is a different way of looking at things. You think differently when you drink your cup of coffee in the morning. Or just taking an alcoholic drink –now I can’t do that without thinking, “oh no, my GABA receptors!” Knowledge changes everything. I can’t help being a caffeine addict — I am one of those people who is an abuser of caffeine —but now I realize the consequences of my choices.
Has it been hard for you to talk to faculty?
It was at first because they’re very intimidating, especially if you make the mistake of reading up on all their research beforehand, and learned that they’ve discovered something or won some award. It’s hard to talk to them when all you can think about is “how can I be like you?” But they don’t want to answer that question. Once you have something to talk about, like you’ve taken some MCB courses and you’ve gained some perspective on biology or, it makes it a lot easier to talk to them.
RESEARCH AND CAREER
Are you involved in any research?
I worked in the Winer lab for two and a half years, completed my honors thesis in that lab and will be presenting at Neuroscience 2009, a national conference this semester. That’ll be a great opportunity to network with other neuroscience researchers around the world.
I also work at the USDA as a lab technician, in a genetics lab, doing functional genomics work.
Why did you pursue a position in a lab if you weren’t interested in research?
I just felt that that’s what everyone needed to do to get into med school so when I saw a posting of something that actually interested me, with the Winer lab, I thought, “Well if I’m going to do research, I want it to be something I want to do. I don’t want to waste their time or my time.” So when I found something that was actually interesting to me, then I got involved.
How would you describe your research to a layperson?
That can be challenging, because you don’t know what to say and not say. Usually I just say neuroanatomy involving certain inhibitory connections in the auditory cortex. And then I usually don’t go much beyond that. People are thrown off by terms such as “auditory cortex” and “inhibitory.”
What are your career plans?
I eventually plan to go to medical school, but I kind of want to do more clinical research so I’m looking into either earning an MD/PhD or just an MD and taking a research route with it. I know a few professors and lecturers who are MDs and they have told me about some of the research they’ve done in the past and seems like it would be a good route to go.
How did you decide you wanted to go to med school and when did you decide that?
It’s been part of who I am from an early age. If I got cut I would say to my sister, “Let’s look at my wound.” I always just liked that for some reason and I have always wondered about the internal workings of my wounds and the human body in general . I’d always watch transplants on TV on the health channels. It was watching the transplants that actually made me really want to go to med school because it was so neat.
How has the research you’ve done at Cal influenced your decision about a career, if at all? Did it change the direction you’re headed?
I think before I just wanted to be a doctor – helping people directly through patient contact, the kind of doctor most of us imagine. Now I want to further the development of medical science and help people that way. I want to affect the future of patients and how they are treated, and the possible outcomes of the treatment, as opposed to helping just one patient at a time.
Do you consider yourself a scientist?
I do. I feel like it’s at my core. I feel like I think like a scientist. I approach other problems that are not scientific as if they were some sort of scientific problem. I definitely feel like a scientist.
Did you consider yourself a scientist when you got to Cal?
I wanted to be a scientist but I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t know how to categorize how I looked at the world before. It’s one of those things that you don’t really know until you get there. Leaving Cal, I feel like a scientist. That’s how I look at the world.
WORDS OF ADVICE
Is there anything else about your experience that you would like to share w/ students?
Don’t get stressed out. I feel that a lot of people feel overwhelmed just by tiny things whereas it’s better to look at it all in perspective. This one midterm is not the end of the world. The one test is not the end of the world. Don’t panic. There is a lot of unnecessary panic among MCB students. If people relaxed, got enough sleep, ate adequately, instead of marathoning it in the library where you can’t eat and you don’t get a good sleep, they would be a lot better prepared for the challenges of the major. And from studying neurology I know that it’s really bad to neglect your sleeping and eating. I always get 8 hours of sleep and make sure I eat 3 meals a day. This is what enables me to stay awake in class, and retain information, which means I don’t have to study as much. So if you take care of yourself you win eventually.
In high school, I was terrible. I pulled all nighters all the time. I would not sleep and would not watch what I ate. I felt like I was always studying and trying to catch up. When I first came here I continued my high-school behavior, at least at first. Then slowly I became this anti-procrastinating person who got a good night’s sleep every night. It’s really bizarre to think that I procrastinated ever.
Now I feel uncomfortable going to class if I haven’t read beforehand. I always do the work before the lecture. It freaks a lot of people out. Many people love to procrastinate—I think it must be human nature.
What accounted for the shift?
I tried sleeping well and eating right for a couple of weeks and realized how much easier and interesting I found the lectures. I got so much more out of my classes especially because the faculty are so knowledgeable about their subjects. If you come in prepared you’re able to understand and appreciate the lecture and apply it and then you’re able to make connections, then when you go to take the midterm, you’re already able to think about the concept quickly because you’ve already made connections to other things you already understand. Once I realized that, I was able to enjoy waking up at 8 am for a lecture, which I didn’t think was possible because I’m not a morning person. Once I enjoyed my 8:00 am Neuroanatomy lecture then I just felt so much better and couldn’t go back.
I’m here to learn. That’s why I’m in college and not travelling. I’m making the most out of it by doing it that way.
When you leave Cal, what will you miss most?
I think I’m going to miss the people most, especially the people in labs and having contact with the faculty here. They have office hours and you can just talk to them if you’re a student. And I’ll miss all the resources and all the clubs. If there’s something you want to do or some type of person you want to talk to they’re probably here. There are so many people of different backgrounds and beliefs. That will be hard to replace.
Any parting words?
MCB is awesome.
Go Bears!