What We Learn from Our Most Junior Team Members

What We Learn from Our Most Junior Team Members

By Tzongshi Lu, PhD

I have been fortunate to have the privilege to work with outstanding trainees in my academic career, from high school students to clinical fellows. High school students, you ask? Yes! And the young mind’s tremendous potential may surprise you. 

The biggest challenge to working with motivated young scientists is their imaginative thinking and questions—and sometimes they break things. However, their questions, and even their mistakes, are also part of the beauty of being a mentor and colleague to these smart young people.

Early in my career, teaching in graduate and medical school made me accustomed to advanced students with a good understanding of basic scientific knowledge. But I learned an important lesson when I gave a kidney disease awareness lecture to a mixed audience of scientists and lay people. A student—who became my first high school trainee—asked me a simple question after my talk: What is the difference between endothelial cells and epithelial cells in the kidney, and how does their dysfunction damage the kidney? I thought, “Didn’t I just explain that in my presentation?” This reminded me of the importance of keeping concepts simple and accessible so any listener can get excited about science. 

I thought back to my first biology class in high school and the beautiful chalk-painted cell structure my high school biology teacher drew on the blackboard. It sparked my enthusiasm for biology and my biomedical research career. As researchers, we tend to get very excited about our research areas and default to using fancy teaching materials. We must instead remember to first think of simple, detailed and easy-to-understand ways to explain our work. Science should not be the privilege of scientists; it should be a friend of everyone. So, how do we do this? We can learn the answer from our junior team members! 

In addition, our high school trainees have a positive impact in several ways. First, our team is full of fun! There always seems to be some unexpected, non-lethal “accidents” that raise interesting questions and allow opportunities for me and senior team members to hone our skills in troubleshooting. Second, their presence and enthusiasm for science inspires our senior-level trainees, helping them learn how to be good mentors. The senior trainees often become more motivated and see the weak points they would never found have found unless they had become a mentor.

Lastly, and the most precious thing, is that our junior trainees can make their dream of working in science come true—an opportunity at their early age that can influence their life tremendously. It also underscores how crucial K–12 STEM education is, particularly in the life sciences.

My colleagues ask me why I keep working on K–12 STEM projects that bring local high school students into my lab. I always joke that I am lowering their burden because I’m preparing a pipeline of highly motivated next-generation scientists. But honestly, I feel called to work with students at this level. Seeing both my high school and senior trainees growing up and maturing into researchers is truly the best reward and shiny medal for me as a biomedical educator in physiology! 

I encourage my fellow APS members to connect with local high schools and consider incorporating younger students into your team. The benefits for you and your students will be great, both now and in the future. 

Tzongshi Lu, PhD, is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate biologist in the renal division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts. He is also a member of the APS Program Working Group.

This article was originally published in the September 2022 issue of The Physiologist Magazine.