The Journey of Pursuing Scientific Research as an Undergraduate

Briana Soto, Verrazzano Class of 2023, completed major in Biology Health Science, with minors in History and Psychology

As a freshman at CSI, I was granted a research opportunity through the CUNY Scholars Research Program, CSRP. The knowledge and experience CSRP granted me will forever be cherished. After I completed the program I realized I had fallen in love with scientific research, but I had no idea where to look or who to ask that would allow an undergraduate student to join their team. I was currently lost and didn’t know what my next step was. It wasn’t until I started reaching out and talking with my classmates that a volunteer research opportunity at the Institute for Basic Research, IBR, opened up. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and everything shut down. It seemed like time had permanently slowed down.

After a year had passed, things were starting to look up and I was able to schedule a meeting with my mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Goodman. Over the course of three years from 2020 to 2023, I was able to work side-by-side with Dr. Goodman and other fellow colleagues.

My research at IBR aimed to use immunohistochemistry to evaluate and assess the anatomical changes that occur in the brain after a traumatic brain injury, TBI, has occurred. At IBR, I was able to practice using both practice and experimental tissue. I learned all of the laboratory procedures that went in place, how to set up the experiments and analyze my results.

My capstone project allowed me to formulate my own hypothesis about TBIs and granted me the opportunity to test it out. I cannot express my gratitude to my mentor, who was there for me every step of the way. Because of Dr. Goodman, I have been able to experience a hands-on approach in the field of neuroscience. I will forever cherish my capstone journey and my time as a Verrazzano student.