“I’ve never seen grassland or desert biomes before in my life, so throughout this entire journey, I feel like I checked off many ‘bucket list checkboxes’. “
Jacob Friedman, 2025 Research Assistantship Program Participant
November 18, 2025
When I look back upon the past two months, it feels nearly impossible to condense all the moments within a few lines. Still, I’m confident this summer pushed me to grow — both in science and in myself!
We all first met in the capital of Sichuan province, Chengdu, on June 18th. After settling in, we made new Sichuan Agricultural University friends through a youth dialogue, visited the giant pandas, and explored other cultural sites. I’d like to mention: I’ve heard from friends at Harvard that the spicy flavor (málà) is ubiquitous, and they were right!
The next day, the environmental restoration and health research conference we attended officially started. From heavy metal accumulation in crops to exposomics, the research talks were incredibly fascinating. This was also the time I first met my soon-to-be principal investigator; I learned more about his research over snacks at one of Chengdu’s night markets later that night. During some down time, my fellow intern, Mirika, and I got to hike Qingcheng Mountain (the birthplace of Daoism).
On June 23rd, we finally arrived in Hangzhou at our host University. I immediately noticed the city’s beauty and could understand why I’ve been told “上有天堂，下有苏杭” (Suzhou and Hangzhou are just below the heavens).
Being the youngest in the lab, my fellow members welcomed me with open arms and trained me on their environmental restoration project involving desert bacteria. Some techniques I learned include bacterial isolation, preparation of culture media, streak-plate colony purification, and basic strain preservation. In addition, we would eat meals together, have candid conversations, and practice speaking each other’s languages as I’m finishing my citation in Chinese this year!
Beyond mentoring, two postdocs and a PhD student also showed me around Hangzhou. One Friday, a postdoc-turned-friend, said “走吧” (let’s go), and the four of us drove two hours to the mountains near Hangzhou to hike and drink tea beside the fields. Moments like that made the experience unforgettable, and weekends often meant exploring Hangzhou or a new city, such as Nanjing.
After the Research Assistantship Program formally ended, my lab members invited me to help them collect soil samples and visit the desert in Alxa, Inner Mongolia; it was an experience like no other. I’ve never seen grassland or desert biomes before in my life, so throughout this entire journey, I feel like I checked off many “bucket list checkboxes”.
Six weeks later, I’ve strengthened my interest in research/biology, practiced speaking Chinese in action, and made many new friends halfway across the globe. My lab members tried teaching me Confucius’s Analects, so I hope one day we will meet again, and I will say: “有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎?”
To learn more about the Harvard China Fund Internship program, click here.