MIT-Denmark Student Stories: Crystal Chen - Internship at DTU BioSustain

It’s been almost a year since I first started thinking about going to Denmark. I was excited by the learning opportunity that conducting research abroad posed and thought it would be a fun and memorable way to complete my MIT experience. These thoughts turned out to be true—although I didn’t anticipate that my half-way point would almost perfectly coincide with the beginning of COVID-19 shutdowns. Yet, despite the uncertainties and impacts of COVID-19, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I had to work in and explore Denmark.

I interned with the Cell Architecture Lab at DTU Biosustain, which works to develop genome engineering technologies to apply to engineering cells. My work was part of a project aimed at developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. It was exciting and fun to be introduced to a new research topic and learn new experiments. Furthermore, my coworkers all came from different research backgrounds (and also different countries!), so I learned a lot from their feedback and discussion during group meetings and office discussions. It was also fun to hear about their experiences in graduate school, both in Denmark and in other countries, especially because I was in the process of choosing a graduate school at the time.

They were also really friendly—we ate lunch together, chatted during coffee breaks, and went to work Friday bars or hangouts. In fact, several of us actually went on a weekend trip to Gdansk, Poland together. We explored the city, climbed all the way up to the top of St. Mary’s Basilica, visited the European Solidarity Centre, and ate a lot of pierogi, amongst other activities.

Gdansk with my coworkers!

Throughout this time, there was an increasing amount of reporting and discussion on COVID-19, at work and amongst the people I lived with. In particular, Italy’s outbreak started in late February and the first few cases in Denmark were also reported at around this time. All of this led up to the week where everything really changed.

It started with a call in the middle of the night, when one of my friends had just seen the European travel ban announcement and thought I would want to know as soon as possible. The next day, the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, announced various closures, including universities, for two weeks (this was later extended). The next few days were filled with calls and emails on what to do—was I staying or leaving, would I be able to travel back in the future, and a host of other considerations. I ultimately decided to stay in Denmark until my originally planned end-date.

The second half of my stay in Denmark was markedly different from the first half. I worked from home on a new, data analysis-focused project. I virtually connected with my coworkers, for meetings and also coffee breaks. While several of my coworkers returned to lab work in university research ramp-ups in the weeks before I left, I finished out my internship on a virtual project.

A view in Skagen

In general, though, Denmark never went on a very strict lockdown. A lot of places were closed, like schools, malls, and services that required close contact, and you couldn’t be in groups of more than ten people in public. But people were encouraged to go outside for walks and exercise, albeit with physical distancing. Masks were never required, and people generally didn’t wear them.

In the beginning, there were many press conferences with the Prime Minister and other officials and representatives that provided updates, answered questions, and shared guidelines. These were generally closely followed. The first week did have a pretty big rush of panic buying (finding yeast was an adventure), but beyond that, people physically distanced and used hand sanitizer at the grocery store.

The daily news was exclusively about COVID-19 for several weeks. There were signs everywhere about lowering the spread of COVID-19. And, while stay-at-home measures could be fairly isolating, there were also efforts to connect people. DR, the public broadcaster, had a Friday evening singalong program with classic Danish songs. I personally became much better friends with the people I lived with and learned a lot about Danish culture and traditions.

As a result of stay-at-home measures, I likely ended up exploring more of Denmark, both in the Capital Region and also elsewhere (all the way up to Skagen!), than I originally planned on. I got to appreciate Denmark’s beauty, from the western coastline and beaches to woodlands and lakes.

Overall, while my MISTI-Denmark experience included a lot of unforeseen changes, I still ended up with an incredibly fulfilling experience. In my internship, I gained a deeper understanding on CRISPR and cancer immunotherapies and presented my project to my colleagues. In general, I learned and experienced different parts of Danish culture, from complaining about NemID to having koldskål when the weather became nicer. And now that I’m back home, it’s time for me to try and find a subtitled version of Matador.

Sunset on the west coast of North Jutland

This blog post was written by Crystal Chen SB ‘20, Chemical-Biological Engineering. Crystal interned at DTU Biosustain at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).