I’ve been working as an Undergraduate Researcher at the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine for three years now. During my time here, I’ve been examining the anatomic distribution and expression of matricellular proteins in the cerebral vasculature of Alzheimer’s Disease subjects. Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive mental deterioration due to the decay and degeneration of the brain. When a patient suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease, protein deposits called amyloid plaques build up and become toxic to brain tissue. The build-up of amyloid plaques causes cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which occurs when the protein deposits form in the walls of blood vessels within the brain. These plaques interfere with vital metabolic pathways and lead to the death of neuronal tissue; if the case is severe enough, the brain shrinks in size in some areas due to the degeneration of the tissue. I have been analyzing six target genes and their role in contributing to cerebral amyloid angiopathy via immunostaining procedures and fluorescent imaging techniques. Thanks to the Vascular Medicine Institute and the University of Pittsburgh, I’ve gained not only hard science and lab skills, but life skills as well, that I will take with me into my future career in the medical field and beyond.
It’s actually kind of funny looking back now on the path I took. When I came to Pitt as a freshman, I never had a strong desire to do research: it seemed boring, and quite frankly, it seemed too complicated for my undergraduate mind to ever grasp. Fast forward three years, and I’m quite surprised and grateful to find myself working on an independent research project that I have turned into a full-blown thesis, of which I will be defending in fulfillment of the Bachelor of Philosophy degree (more on this to come in my second blog-post!). So how exactly did I get involved in research? My first involvement in research was through the First Experiences in Research (FER) program, which is offered to first-year students through the Office of Undergraduate Research. I remember receiving an email about this and half-heartedly filling out the required documents and submitting them, not because I was interested in research itself, but solely because I thought it would look good on my résumé. The position I was offered was in the School of Public Health at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health where I examined chemically-induced acute lung injury in mice models. This was when my interest in research was really sparked, and I was hooked on the experience. Immediately following my poster presentation at the annual FER symposium, I contacted the Office of Undergraduate Research to set up a more permanent research position for my sophomore year. This lead to my current position at the Vascular Medicine Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Adam Straub, Dr. Jeffrey Isenberg, and three wonderful postdoctoral fellows. I’ve been here ever since! There are many ways to get the most out of your research position – the key, in my opinion, is to be assertive and proactive in finding ways to expand your experience. I first started out by doing research for credit (5 hrs/week = 1 credit). This allowed my research schedule to be pretty flexible, as I was still getting the hang of balancing schoolwork and extracurricular activities with my hours at the lab. Once I became more comfortable with committing more time to working at the lab, I started going to weekly lab meetings headed by my principal investigator. This was valuable time for me as an undergraduate student because I had the opportunity to learn more about the ongoing projects in my lab, as well as receive feedback on my research progress. Come junior year, I decided to apply for the Brackenridge Research Fellowship for the fall semester. This fellowship provided me with a research grant and a semester-long seminar that emphasized interdisciplinary programming. The seminar was headed by a faculty member of the Honors College, who facilitated presentations and in-depth discussion amongst the fellows. Not only did we learn about each fellow’s research, but we also attended weekly seminars led by Pitt faculty, across a multitude of subject areas. The following semester I was awarded the Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, which also provided me with a research grant for my project. These two fellowships were great ways for me to continue to learn about other students’ research projects and expand my project, which is something I encourage all undergraduate researchers to pursue (especially if you are receiving credit for your research position)! After utilizing these two research grants, I wanted to make my research experience even more tangible and concrete. After looking at all the resources offered through the University, I decided to expand my research even further by applying for the Bachelor of Philosophy degree (BPhil for short). At first, I was very intimidated by the requirements to fulfill the degree – not only was a full-length written thesis required, which is equivalent to that of a Master’s degree thesis, but also a scheduled defense of the thesis before a self-selected committee of faculty examiners. I almost backed out of submitting the application. However, the more I thought about it, the more I felt that this was the next step for me to truly get the most out of my research experience. I submitted the application at the end of my junior year, and a couple weeks later, I received word from the University Honors College that I was officially a candidate for the BPhil. Two days ago, after selecting a panel of thesis committee members, including one external committee member from Washington University School of Medicine, I selected the official date for my defense! Which brings me back full circle to the heart of my project, as mentioned earlier in this blog post. There are many reasons why I stayed on this project for so long, but the main reason is because of my passion for the sciences and my personal tie to this project. I, like many of us, know someone very close to me who suffered from Alzheimer’s. The manifestation of the symptoms is not only devastating to the patient, but to everyone else around them as well. It’s a slow but progressive disease with no cure, and it affects more and more people each year. Dr. David Satcher, who was the former U.S. Surgeon General and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, “Alzheimer's is the most under-recognized threat to public health in the 21st century.” Although I am only one out of the many people who are conducting research on Alzheimer’s, I hope I can contribute a small, but meaningful piece to this vast network. Questions about getting involved in research or applying for research grants? Stop by Grace's office hours Wednesdays from 11-noon in the Langley Lobby!
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Pitt Bio BlogThe Pitt Bio Blog is maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences Advising Office. Posts are authored by our students Archives
January 2022
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