Katherine Hobgood Summer 2023

This summer, Katherine Hobgood (Biology '24) is interning at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India!

Read the interview below with Katy to learn more!

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How do you get to work? How do you get around in general?

Luckily for work the NCBS campus is so beautiful and walkable that I can just walk to the lab in the mornings! As for around town I love using Auto-rickshaws because they're so well ventilated and it feels like an adventure every time.

What is your work/internship like day-to-day?

In my lab I work on metabarcoding and analyzing chemical markers in tiger urine samples. Day to day is super interesting because my lab is full of animal/ecology researchers working on a wide variety of subjects so I get to hear about different research every day! My actual work day consists of reading a wide variety of papers, enjoying a great dosa for lunch, and working on using a mass spectrometer to analyze proteins and chemicals in tiger urine.

What is an aspect of your work that you're excited about?

I'm most excited about seeing what the lab work environment in India looks like and how work etiquette differs in different countries.

Have you visited any new/exciting places?

I have visited Mysore, Skandagiri mountains, and Bhopal during my time in India so far. It's been interesting to see how each city carves its own niche and has its own specialties, not to mention how beautiful Indian nature and wildlife is.

Have you tried any new foods you enjoyed or seen anything new?

I have tried so many new foods it's hard to count, but I love all of it. My favorite so far is Masala Dosa with Sambar. A classic that I enjoy is Pani Puri which is a small ball of thin fried dough that is filled with a variety of fillings. There are savory fillings and sweet fillings depending on what your mood is!