Wawepex

About two years ago, I started looking at various graduate programs in US. There were many universities that I dreamt of getting into - some because they were highly ranked, some of them had excellent faculty of high repute and some of them were amidst the most picturesque surroundings. Among all these, one place offered everything a student could ask for - Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory. I did not apply there as I was sure of not getting through. And my dream remained a dream.

Recently, my courteous boss asked me to accompany him to a meeting at CSHL. Having seen the posters of the meetings at CSHL for the past few years, I knew that this would be a great place to meet many people who have inspired me through their work. So this blog is dedicated to my impressions of this great place.

I traveled to New York and took a cab to Long Island. My co-passengers, some scientists from Colorado, were furiously arguing about their exciting research findings. I was too tired to engage in any form of socializing, so I chose to look at the passing cars. In my mind, I was picturing CSHL with huge labs and lots of people swarming the place. But, the place was totally different . The lab is located in a green belt on the shores of Cold Spring Harbor. The place looked more like a popular tourist resort. The lab was a whaling town and was named Wawepex in the past.

I was put up in a old Victorian house called the Robertson House. The house was a good 20 min drive into the woods from where the talks took place. Everything in the house seemed to have a history. Apparently, the place was home to many scientists in the past. The furniture, the antique clock belonged to one of them in the past. But one of my other friends was not lucky enough to get good accommodation. So, I felt even more pleased.

The talks took place for 5 days with sessions starting early in the morning and extending into the night. The amount of work that went into research was evident from each talk. Sitting there, I wondered if I would ever be able to carry out quality research of such standards!

On the second day, while having breakfast, I happened to notice an old man talking to people as if he were enquiring their whereabouts. Some people seemed to greet him with respect. I wondered who he was. Only later did I come to know that he was Dr. James Watson!! - one of the scientists who presented the double helical model of DNA to the world. As I explored the campus, I learnt how each laboratory housed a famous scientist in the past. The labs, named after a scientist stood as a mute evidence for many basic discoveries that have revoultionised Biology today. The double helical model of DNA, restriction enzymes, transposons and many more...

Apart from listening to talks, I got to taste some amazing food and free booze. I would have had more variety if my diet was not restricted to veggie stuff!

As I left CSHL, I hoped that someday I would be able to come back and present my work. And someday, I would also be one of the thousands whose work is engraved on the walls of Cold Spring Harbour.