When I first heard about
the Verrazano Capstone project, I was terrified. I didn’t know how I was going
to get started; there were so many questions in my mind. My first big question
was, who should I do research with? I knew I liked science and learning about
the human body. A topic that sparked my interest was any type of cancer
research. Now, the hard part was finding a faculty mentor that was conducting
that kind of research. Lucky for me, I found Dr. Nancy Liu-Sullivan who was
performing cancer research for the brain. I knew I had to contact her right
away and ask to be in her research group. Dr. Liu-Sullivan teaches immunology,
which is a class where you learn all about your immune system. I had taken her
class right before I started research with her, which was the best decision. I
had my mentor and my topic, now for the fun part, the actual research.
Throughout my research experience,
I learned that not all research had to be in a lab setting. My particular
research was computer based, and I used a database called Oncomine. For my
research I looked at how different cytokines could affect Glioblastoma.
Cytokines are signaling molecules from immune cells that can alert other immune
cells if there is an invader in the body.
The purpose of my research was to compare the expression levels of
different cytokines in a normal tissue that we call the control, versus
glioblastoma. The goal of this research would be to create a treatment plan for
this type of cancer because currently there aren’t any treatment options, and
this type of cancer has a very low survival rate. From this research journey I
learned the different ways in how our immune systems fight off cancer by using
cytokines, particularly in the brain.
I am so thankful that Dr.
Liu-Sullivan and Verrazzano have helped me so much throughout my academic
journey. Performing research has opened my eyes, and I feel that I am a better
student because of it.
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