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| Syeda Hussaini (far right in the first row) |
Systems Biology Center of New
York (SBCNY) offers a 10-week research-based opportunity at one of the well-known
institutes in New York. It is located in one of the Mount Sinai buildings in
Manhattan, New York. The program is for undergraduates who are entering their
junior or senior year within CUNY. Students
majoring in these areas: Biological, Mathematical, Physical and Engineering
Sciences are encouraged to apply. This is a summer fellowship that rewards
students who have an interest pursuing a PhD or PhD/MD with a unique experience
and stipend.
I
found out about this opportunity during my sophomore year in 2010. The poster
was on one of the walls of the 6S building at the College of Staten Island. I wrote down the website and
decided to check it out at home. After reviewing the website I decided to apply, and when I was accepted that spring semester I was caught off guard. I was extremely excited for
this opportunity, especially since I was going to be part of the Mount Sinai community
for 10 weeks! During the summer of 2010, I had the opportunity to work alongside exceptional researchers and professors who worked at the Medical School.
Although I had researched with a couple of professors at the College of Staten
Island in inorganic and organic chemistry labs, this research fellowship was different.
Instead of doing my usual saline and catalytic
reactions and obtaining their respective products, at Mount Sinai I had to
construct a computer model of a signaling pathway. I learned so much thanks to
my mentor, Dr. Susana Neves. She helped me through my entire fellowship experience. Dr. Neves was nice enough to show me around the building, which
was amazing. I learned step-by-step about her research on how dopamine and
glutamate have an effect on the signaling pathway in the cell. I also learned
how to use the bio-modeling program called Virtual Cell (Vcell).
Our
department had weekly seminars where everyone would gather in the conference
room and listen to and observe speakers talk about new findings and/or
graduate opportunities. We got a chance to meet with other PhD professors and
researchers as well as enjoy delicious Thai food that was ordered for us
during the meetings. I also got a chance to meet other undergraduates from different
CUNY schools who were there for the fellowship. I still keep in touch
with one of them. We helped each other out on understanding how to use the
computer program when our mentors were busy.
With
Vcell, I was able to construct what was actually happening inside the cell in
presence or absence of the specific substrates Dr. Neves was experimenting
with. The title of my research was, “Temporal Integration of Dopamine and
Glutamate Inputs into the Striatum”. My research was based on the various
levels/amounts of input of both stimulants: Dopamine and Glutamate. These
neurotransmitters are involved in producing reward-dependent learning. I had to
make a model of the effects of these two substrates in the striatum of the
mouse brain where many diseases are seen, such as Parkinson’s disease, drug
addiction and schizophrenia. I produced graphs that showed the trends of
dopamine and glutamate (increase or decrease) when they were at higher doses
and lower doses. I also produced charts that showed their affect on second
messengers/ions such as: DAG, IP3, cAMP and cyctoplasmic Ca++. For more
information about my research, here is a link to my abstract: http://sbcny.org/Pdfs/2010_program/2010_Summer_undergraduate_program_Hussaini.pdf.
Towards
the end of the summer, the summer fellows, including myself, presented at a
poster presentation. Here, we talked about the research and our posters and
answered questions. This certainly boosted up my confidence, especially since
it was the first research conference I had presented at. Plus, I received a
2,500 stipend that summer as part of the program. The stipend has actually gone up to $4000 dollars since I participated! I did not continue my
research there, but I did learn a lot about Dr. Neves' work and so much about
biochemistry. This prepared me for the biochemistry class I took a year later.
I was relieved to have some background knowledge on what I was learning.
The fellowship with SBCNY
was a great experience, and I encourage my fellow undergraduates to apply for this
opportunity. I think everyone should want to be a part of the Mount Sinai
community, even if it is for one summer! You can definitely return to continue
on your own research there alongside the faculty.
Finally, here's a
little about myself. Right now, I am looking forward to the end of this
semester, which will be my last. It's sad to see myself leave CUNY, CSI, and the Verrazano Honors Program, but at the same time I am super excited to step into the
real world. Right now, my goal for real world is to pursue a Doctor of Optometry degree and do
research in the field. I've had two interviews so far and have two more to go. We'll see what happens! Don’t forget to check out the SBCNY summer research
program website; the fellowship is a great opportunity.
Link to SBCNY summer opportunity:
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