Through the NIGINTERN 2013 program I had experience working in a world class laboratory. It was a golden opportunity to learn a lot of things. I did my internship under Saga sensei in Mammalian Development Laboratory. It was the first time I handled mice. In my project I analysed mRNA and protein expression in Cyp26b1 conditional knockout mice. I did immuno-histochemistry and qRT PCR. I learnt to fix, stain and image sections of tissue. I also did a novel experiment (Bi-fluorescence Complimentation Assay) to study interaction between two proteins. I learnt many other things like cell culture and imaging using confocal microscope. The lab members were very kind and helpful. One advantage of laboratories of NIG was that there were more number of post docs and professors than the number of students. Thus there were a lot of experienced people to guide me. Besides experiments we also regularly had lab journal clubs and progress meets which helped me to know the work of other lab members. My lab also gave me the opportunity to attend conference conducted by Japanese Society for Developmental Biologists. Through the conference I was exposed to thecurrent research topics in developmental biology. The lab visits arranged by NIG was veryuseful. It helped me to know about the research going on in other labs of NIG.

Besides work Mishima is a wonderful place to stay. Mishima has the serenity and beauty of country side and at the same time it has all the facilities of a modern city. During my stay I enjoyed fireworks festival at Atami. I enjoyed roaming around Mishima. I alsoenjoyed the Japanese class by Miyauchi sensei. This internship deepened my desire to pursue a research career.