Today was my first day at RTI located in RTP working with Dr. Ginger Rothrock! Although the traffic was a little heavier than my usual commute to 1600 N Harrison avenue and I may or may not have gotten lost on the way, it was a great day! I started the day off by talking to Dr. Rothrock about what RTI does and more specifically the project she’s working on right- a HIV insert-able prevention device. It was really interesting to learn about how RTI works with to improve global health in a variety of ways in terms of applied science. After she explained RTI’s general mission and the specifics of the project, she gave me some information to read from preparation for tomorrow’s all day meeting. After reading we went to go get me a badge so i could get into the building. The we went to lunch at RTI’s new cafeteria, and talked more about the all day meeting on Wednesday- where a group of people from around the country will come together to discuss global health and its agenda. After lunch I got to go into the lab with Natalie and Alice, who are both working on the case. They showed and explained to me the device in which they are working to develop. Then they even let me try to make one of my own! But instead of the drug I used coffee creamer which is a similar consistency. Then they showed and explained to me the data so far and how they collected it-which was very cool. It was really interesting to see some of the concepts and methods I learned in chem being used. I can’t wait for the week to come!