University: Cornell University
Hometown: Ithaca, NY
NIH Research Project:
Protein Microarrays for Cancer Drug Discovery
Mentor: John N. Weinstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology
National Cancer Institute
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I recently graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. I have always had a love for biology and an interest in human health, so biomedical research has been a natural choice for me.
As an undergraduate, I initiated bench research experiences through summer internships and an independent project. During the academic year, my research involved treating leukemia cells with various compounds that bind to retinoic acid receptors to stop cell growth. My summer research experiences focused on other types of cancer, namely melanoma and breast cancer.
For my first summer as a UGSP Scholar I am training in Dr. John Weinstein's Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute. I am trying to develop a new detection method to screen 60 cancer cell lines for protein expression patterns using protein microarrays. With the assistance of bioinformatics, these patterns will be used to select therapeutic drug targets, identify key molecules in cancer cells, and provide information for many other applications.
At the end of the summer I will begin the 1-year, postgraduation training component of the UGSP. Although cancer research has been fulfilling and fascinating, I would like to use my time at the NIH to learn about immunology and infectious diseases. Therefore, I will be training in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases where I will likely be studying tuberculosis.
I will be applying to graduate school for fall 2003. I expect to either return to cancer research or continue in the area of infectious diseases. |
