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The Children's News team made its first stop of the evening
at the Karp Family Research Laboratories, where researcher Rebecca
Wingert was just beginning her evening's work at 11:06
p.m. A sixth-year graduate student in the Biological and Biomedical
Sciences program at Harvard Medical School, Wingert conducts research
on blood mutants in zebrafish in the lab of Leonard
Zon, MD, director of the hospital's Stem Cell/Developmental
Biology Research program, where she has worked for the past five
years.
While Wingert's work hours frequently revolve around her teaching
schedule—she currently teaches an introductory biology class
at the Harvard Extension School—she generally enjoys working
during late-night hours, when there aren't as many people
around. "I'll often work a full day and then come back
at night to get caught up or to continue working on an exciting
finding," said Wingert. "I find that I think more clearly
and get more accomplished when I'm on my own in the lab."
And Wingert isn't the only researcher who feels this way.
The laboratory door could be heard opening and closing a number
of times during the interview, narrating the comings and goings
of other researchers. But Wingert doesn't really count herself
among the ranks of the night owls. "I just enjoy the tranquility
of the late-night hours," she said. "It's more
of a personal preference."
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