College/Major: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences/Biomedical Sciences & Microbiology 

Biography: I am a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Microbiology and Infectious Disease, with a minor in Science Communication. My research interests are immunology and microbiology focused, specifically translational research with things like creating therapies and vaccines for infectious diseases. I am also the Outreach Coordinator of a local nonprofit called The Quarter Project, where we teach young girls STEM!

Research Experience: I have about two years of research experience in a couple labs, including the OURA lab my freshman year! Currently, I am a MARC scholar doing research in the Jackson lab learning techniques such as Western Blots, protein assays, cell culture, microscopy imaging, and a lot of data analyzing/visualization. I have done a lot in microbiology research, from reading tons of papers to develop protocols, wet lab work, to creating posters and presenting my research at conferences like CURC.

Campus involvement: OURA Ambassador, President of Alpha Sigma Kappa-Women in Technical Studies, MARC Scholar 

Post-graduation plans: Pursue a PhD in Immunology and continue to be a science communicator! 

Favorite part of research: Getting to be on the cutting-edge of breakthroughs that can greatly impact the lives of others. I love being able to see real-time results of my work and analyze the data to learn more.  

Advice for students interested in getting involved in research: Be ready to step outside your comfort zone and ask a LOT of questions. It can be difficult or frightening to step into a world where you don’t know much, but just remember that everyone started from somewhere, and almost everyone there genuinely wants to help you succeed!