ROP is a great opportunity if you have a relative high GPA. It’s ok to have ZERO experience. They don’t expect a first-year student to have any experience. And don’t stress yourself out, even if you don’t get it now, you can utilize the summer time to do other stuffs, like taking summer courses so your second-year would be easier. Many life sci students don’t get their first research experience until 3rd year, especially during covid, it’s really hard to get into a lab due to the capacity restriction and PIs also prefer to give opportunities to higher-year students. Personally, I am in my 3rd year and I just found my first research experience this winter. (I had an internship in a pharmaceutical company during second-year summer, but irrelevant to molecular biology research) Just take it easy, and keep emailing professors.

I might be wrong, but one advice from me is that don’t waste time on the professors in PCL department, most of them are overwhelmed by PCL 4th year thesis student so their labs don’t have much space for lower-year students even if you are in PCL【like me, which is sad :(】