Tackling Cancer Research as a Chemist and a Biologist

Tackling Cancer Research as a Chemist and a Biologist

Mohamed Al Sharif is a Verrazano alum, Class of 2018. He majored in Biology with a minor in Arabic, and is a fan of complicated questions, in and outside of research!

Mohamed, back row, at CSI's Undergraduate Research Conference with research team

Since my first year at college, I have been actively involved in two independent research studies. While taking a General Chemistry course in my first semester at CSI, my professor invited me to conduct research in her laboratory during the summer. My research involved performing computer-based simulations to study the interactions between biomolecules. My project later on advanced to study the transfer free energies of drugs that potentially target cancer cells and cells involved in Alzheimer’s disease. However, since chemistry and biology are intertwined, I wanted to additionally perform research in a biology laboratory to correlate between theoretical data obtained from my chemistry research project with actual data obtained from a laboratory in biology, and I did! The following semester, I started working in a laboratory that studies the effects of anti-cancer agents derived from plant compounds on cervical cancer cells. It always felt rewarding to obtain data that was promising in the field of cancer. Additionally, being awarded the CSI Undergraduate research award twice, the Dean of Science and Technology Undergraduate Research Fellowship twice and an NSF Research Fellowship in Biochemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering, supported my research. I am most proud of earning authorship on an article published in a scientific journal for the contributions I have made to these studies. Knowing that my dedication and commitment to research will provide a solution to a major health issue has increased my passion for conducting research. I am confident that during the time I have been involved in research, I have developed laboratory and critical thinking skills that will allow me to plan and carry out future experiments independently and effiecntly.

Studying Child Development Leads to Personal Growth

 Pascale Saad is an alumna of the Verrazano Class of 2018. She majored in Psychology with a minor in Disability Studies.

My independent research in the Child Development Lab at the College of Staten Island is a major experience that impacted my career choice. I knew I wanted to work with children in the future, which why I decided to join this lab, but I did not know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to work. By listening to my colleagues speak about their experiences, their past and present work on research during lab meetings, it lead me to choose a career in occupational therapy

Pascale, lower right, with research team

I have been involved in this lab for almost two years working under the guidance of Dr. Sarah Berger. My research project focuses on the relationship between sleep and locomotor problem-solving in newly walking infants. This research allowed me to learn about infant motor development and their sleep patterns, how to work with children and their families, and how to conduct myself in a professional environment with my colleagues. The way Dr. Berger runs this lab allowed me to have plenty of hands on experience. As a senior member in the lab, I helped recruit study participant at farmers markets, fairs, daycares, and libraries; participated in multiple data collections for different projects, coded and analyzed the data for my project, and created personalized thank you gifts for the participants. By attending many recruitment events to connect with children and their families, I strengthened my communication skills. I have become more comfortable in approaching families during these events and explaining the research to them. Another benefit to joining this lab is increasing my cooperative skills as I work with others. I assisted Dr. Berger in training the new members that joined the lab in all of the lab duties also sharing what I’ve learned during my time in the lab with them. Being able to train new members showed me how much I have grown in regards to my knowledge in infant research since I first started working with Dr. Berger.

Presenting at the Undergraduate Research Conference

My experience in this lab has shown me a perspective of psychology that was unexpected. I never would have imagined being a part of something that is so big and to achieve all of the accomplishments that I did. This environment is different than being in a classroom because I see where the data is coming from instead of just reading about it in the textbooks. I did not expect to be a part of an actual, ongoing research project from its beginning and to be able to present my research in multiple conferences during my time at the lab. I presented a poster on the Effects of Sleep on Motor Problem-Solving in Infants at the CSI Undergraduate Conference in Staten Island, New York. I was also an author on a poster, Regress for Success: Returning to Crawling Places Attentional Demands on New Walkers, presented at the Cognitive Development Society in Portland, Oregon though I could not attend.

Research is (and isn't!) child's play!

This project is related to my course of study because my hope is to become an occupational therapist in the future and work with children. I am the first person in my family to attend higher education and my research experience has had its challenges because I did not know what to expect. I grew so much as a person from freshman to senior year. I was completely lost coming from a small sheltered high school. I needed to find my way through college on my own including making decisions such as picking a major, building my resume and finding the right experiences needed for graduate school. Growing up and even until today, my parents have always stressed the importance of an education which prompted this to take a big role in my life. All of my accomplishments including my acceptance to the conference for International Congress of Infants Studies, which will take place in July of 2018, is another opportunity to grow academically and professionally. This conference is well known in infant research, therefore participating in this conference will impact my career in multiple ways. The environment will be new for me because it will be my first time being a part of an international conference. I will be surrounded by experts who have been in the field for many years which will allow me to see different aspects of research on infants to expand my knowledge.