Why did you choose to study at WPI?  

When I was in high school, I participated in WPI’s pre-collegiate programs for three consecutive summers, where I was able to work with biology and biotechnology faculty, get to know the campus, and make friends. WPI’s collaborative and supportive culture was attractive to me. During the summer programs, I enjoyed completing hands-on lab work and taking elective courses like “Magic as a Performance Art” and “Character Costume Creation.” After these positive experiences with WPI as a high school student, WPI became my top choice, and I was ecstatic when I was granted admission as a biology/biotechnology major. 

How are you involved with the WPI community?  

During undergrad, I was a member and briefly held a few executive positions in WPI’s Coin and Currency Club. I also participated in the Student Government Association for two years as accounting chair. Lastly, I have been a Student Philanthropy Ambassador (SPA) and am continuing my involvement with SPA as a graduate student. Although I did not participate in any team sports, I began working out at the WPI gym during sophomore year and I continue going to the gym with my lifting buddies a few days a week. 

What’s your favorite thing about WPI?  

I appreciate the extensive resources, support, and enthusiasm of the faculty in welcoming students to the lab environment while teaching basic and advanced lab skills. The Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) and Major Qualifying Project (MQP) are tremendous assets at WPI. Since C (spring) term of 2022, I have been a contributing member and researcher in the Farny Lab. I completed my MQP in the Farny Lab and am conducting research as part of my master’s program on new cell systems within the Farny lab. Also, the support and care that the WPI community provides allows students to develop and flourish in their chosen areas of concentration. I have found that many of my professors, regardless of subject, are enthusiastic about teaching and work hard to engage their students. 

Do you have a faculty or staff mentor?  

Professor Natalie Farny continues to be a positive guiding influence on my academic work at WPI. Other faculty members that are mentors for me are Professor Reeta Rao, Professor Marja Bakermans, and Professor Bruce Bursten. I was a peer learning assistant under Professor Rao for her Medical Microbiology course, and she makes time to discuss potential academic and professional pathways for me to consider. With Professor Bakermans, I have completed multiple independent studies where she has guided me on creating open education resources. Professor Bursten was my freshman year chemistry professor during COVID and he made a difficult course engaging and understandable through discussions during office hours. Professor Bursten and I continue to meet to discuss my academic and professional pursuits, and we enjoy collegial conversations. 

What projects are you working on? 

Currently, I am conducting research under Ally Cabral, a PhD candidate, in the Farny Lab. Ally’s project investigates the relationship between oxidative stress and protein aggregation using stress granules as a model. Her current focus is learning about the impact of UV radiation on stress granules in mammalian cells. Stress granules are protein condensates that form when a cell is under stress. A few skills I’m learning this year are splitting cells and maintaining cell lines. For the second year of my master’s program, I’ll begin working with synthetic gene circuits and learning bacterial bioengineering experiments like ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing).