Student Success Stories
Over the past several years, students from across the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico applied to participate in the INRO program. Outstanding undergraduate and graduate students were chosen to participate each year based on their overall academic excellence and their interest in biomedical research.
Imran Babar
“The programs sounded like an exciting opportunity to learn about NIAID research.…”
As an undergraduate at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, Imran Babar became fascinated with basic cell and molecular biology. On the advice of a professor, he applied to INRO and was accepted.
Imran met and interviewed with several NIAID investigators. Dr. Stephen F. Porcella, chief of the Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana, sparked his interest. “I wanted to learn microarray analysis, and researchers at the RML were doing a lot of it.”
Under Dr. Porcella’s mentorship, Imran learned how to set up an effective control, gained a wealth of experience with microarray analysis, received advice regarding graduate school, and was able to coauthor a publication in a respected peer-reviewed journal.
Imran’s research experience motivated him to apply to some of the Nation’s top graduate schools. He entered the Ph.D. program in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University.
Mila Ortigoza
“I was thrilled to learn that the research component was definitely something I could incorporate with my medical career.… INRO solidified for me that research.”
At INRO, Mila attended scientific lectures and had the opportunity to interview with several researchers, including Edward A. Berger, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases. She talked with Dr. Berger about the research in his lab and what she might do if she signed on for a research traineeship. After talking with Dr. Berger, Mila says, “I had no doubt that I wanted to take a year off and learn more about independent research at NIH.”
Today, Mila is pursuing her M.D./Ph.D. at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York through the Medical Scientists Training Program, an NIH-funded program. She hopes to practice medicine and eventually to have her clinical experiences influence the research she ultimately would like to do in virology.
Juliana Lewis
Juliana Lewis attended INRO on the advice of her mentor at Northeastern University in Boston. She had just completed her first laboratory experience as an undergraduate and was sparked with a newly found interest in biomedical research. Her mentor thought that INRO might help Juliana decide whether she wanted to move forward with her original goal of attending medical school or perhaps take another path.
“At INRO, I learned about the science behind the medicine,” Juliana explained. “I realized that there are additional paths that will lead me toward my career goal of helping mankind lead a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life. Biomedical research happened to be a side of medicine that sparked my interest on a deeper level than hands-on patient care.”
Juliana did a summer internship position with the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology at NIAID. She then secured a postbaccalaureate position at the same laboratory. Intending to stay for 1 year, Juliana signed on to continue her research as a postbaccalaureate trainee for an additional 2 years.
Juliana is now pursuing her doctoral degree in immunology at Tufts University in Boston. She speaks openly about her change from her original desire to attend medical school to her current path, that of obtaining a Ph.D. “It’s an exciting milestone in my life.”
Donald Cheatem
“INRO superseded my goals. The research described was very cutting-edge and groundbreaking.”
As a graduate student at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Donald applied to INRO to gain a better understanding of research opportunities available. He knew that he wanted to pursue his interest in immunology, obtain a medical degree, and conduct research at a teaching hospital. He also knew that NIAID was at the forefront of research in immunology and would be a wonderful place for him to feed his desire for discovery through research. INRO offered the chance to see exactly what opportunities might be available to him.
Donald spent a summer honing his research techniques and gaining a broader understanding of research protocols through NIAID’s summer internship program.
Donald continued his educational training at the University of Illinois in the M.D./Ph.D. program.
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This program offered by the: Office of Training and Diversity, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health