It was one in the morning and I was tired. I had just traveled from Madrid to Florence by plane, a plane that was two hours late, I had my irritatingly large backpack, and it was at that point I realized I was out of luck. I had managed to figure my way through the Madrid bus system. Managed to find my way through the menacingly large airport terminals. But, sitting at the barren Florence airport it all ran out. Earlier that day my credit cards had stopped me from making cash withdraws for 24 hours, the last bus had left 30 minutes ago, and I was 15 km from the city. No money, no way to get home, I was in a lovely situation.

The essence of research is to seek beyond that which is already established. Whether that is to test what is already proven or to build a new knowledge base on what is already set, research constantly pushes the norm.

My BRAVO! experience has captured the spirit and charisma of research on so many levels I can only grin at memories that flood my mind when I think of Florence, Italy and research together. First and foremost my BRAVO! experience led me into the venerable lab of Dr. Giancarlo Pepeu and Dr. Fiorella Casamenti in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Florence. Their names are enough to capture the Florentine feel, but upon meeting and working with these dignified researchers I truly saw "Italy" within the lab. The accents, the food, the personalities, and the clothing styles all made my lab a rich, unique place. Not to mention the four PhD students who patiently and thoughtfully guided my way through new techniques and ideas. From the beginning I was changing how I had to think, work, and communicate. I was pushing my comfortable, familiar boundaries. I was researching.

It never works out exactly how you think. I had researched the specific technique I was to be responsible for while in Florence. Copying down protocols and memorizing countless pictures made it seem simple and similar to the technique I used at the UA. Go figure immunohistochemisty and immunocytochemisty are uncomfortably different. If you have research experience you know learning a new technique is never easy. Its difficult to feel like the burden of the lab, having to be taught, step by step, a technique the others know so well. Little prior experience with the technique making me confused, little ability to satiate a deep desire to truly help, I was in a lovely situation.

Speaking English, however, made me a hot commodity in the lab. Papers, posters, and most research must be published in English in order to be considered for American journals and grants. I was always asked to read work, which was nothing new, but what was different was I no longer read to supplant my knowledge; it was to establish the credibility of different scientists' work. My eyes, my grammar, my understanding of the science within each paper became paramount because my corrections were to be read by those who make or break the careers of aspiring researchers. I was no longer reading for myself, I was reading for something much bigger. Not confident with my perfect grammar, not confident with the weight of my colleagues'/friends' scientific aspirations on my shoulders, I was in a lovely situation.

Research is always asking, "What's next?" How can we cure it? What is the role of this? What's the relationship between? Each question holds a yearning for more without knowing what "more" exactly is. I perpetually found myself asking the very "what's next" question throughout my BRAVO! experience. Each "lovely" situation had me burning with "hows" and "whats". While my research experience was obvious as I spent time looking at cells, slides, and brains, I was doing my own research each time I asked these questions. How do I solve this problem? What am I going to do next?

The ultimate end of research is more knowledge, and by the end of my 12 weeks I had a new comprehensive knowledge about Alzheimer's disease, immunohistochemisty, microspectroscopy and myself. Questions lead to answers and experience and action are the only way to get to those answers. It is incredibly hard. Research rarely ends where you think it will which makes the experience that much more terrifying. But while terrifying, it is exciting because research leads to new potentials, new capabilities, and things we never knew existed. I observed and worked with research that showed potential in limiting the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Along with the laboratory research I found I could do; I am capable of finding a way in any situation. Whether lonely, lost, helpless, moneyless, problems have solutions that can be solved with a good attitude, and a lot of effort.

That night at the Florence airport I walked the 15 km home. I put my iPod in, and walked, sang and danced two and a half hours home. It was a problem I questioned how to solve, so I focused, readied myself and went to work putting one foot in front of the other. I was researching.

Daniel Butler, BRAVO! student working with Dr. Giancarlo Pepeu and Dr. Fiorella Casamati, in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Florence, Italy and undergraduate volunteer in Dr. Scott Sherman's laboratory, Neurology, UA .

NOTE: Attend Daniel's datablitz on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 5:00 PM, Life Sciences South 240.