University: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
NIH Research Project:
p53 Mediated Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis
Mentor: Curtis C. Harris, M.D.
Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute
|
|
 |
As a toddler, I had an insatiable curiosity, to the extent that I would question everyone about everything. I needed to know how all phenomena functioned. My bout of queries as a youngster has inevitably remained and has grown as I have become a senior majoring in biological sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Toward the latter part of my first semester in college, I joined the lab of my biology instructor. I conducted experiments on heat shock proteins of Drosophila melanogaster, a type of fruit fly. This research experience was the first of many to come. With some buzzing motivation, I joined a new lab-a botanical lab. Under the direction of Dr. Lloyd R. Stark, I analyze the effects of stress on the desert moss Syntrichia caninervis.
During the summer of 2003, I participated in a research internship at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jonathan Beckwith supervised my research on DsbA, a chemical bond forming enzyme of Escherichia coli. This summer as a UGSP Scholar, I am researching the guardian of the genome, p53, which is a cancer-suppressing protein. Dr. Curtis Harris has been gracious to allow me to assist in his current studies in the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis within the National Cancer Institute.
Not only do I want to conduct biomedical research, but I also want to develop relationships with the people who will directly benefit from my research. With that, I want the medical skills of a physician and the scientific methodology of a scientist; therefore, I plan to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. after graduation. |
