 Daphne is a microbiology / chemistry / pre-medicine  major. Her SDSU activities include SDSU-Civic Symphony, string ensemble, Students' Association Senator, biological research, teaching violin and viola lessons, anatomy class intern, and hospice volunteer.
What kind of research are you doing at the National Institutes of Health?
At the NIH my research has focused on the disease uveitis, an autoimmune disease affecting the retina of the eye. My projects have focused on finding treatments for this disease in mice and rats and also the quantitative trait loci for this disease (groups of genes that make these animals more susceptible).
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I see myself in graduate school, hopefully in an MD/PhD program.
Which area of clinical research would you like to work in?
I’m interested in cancer and autoimmune diseases, but I’m still unsure of what I would like to pursue research in. I hope that going to medical school will allow me to find an area that I am passionate in. Whatever area I conduct research in, it will be an area that has clinical relevance.
Are you glad you chose to attend SDSU?
Yes. Attending SDSU has allowed me to explore my interests. I’ve conducted research since my freshman year, which is not common at many universities. The professors at SDSU are helpful and sincerely care whether their students are learning. I have also been able to play viola in the orchestra here, which continues to grow each year.
What has been the biggest surprise about SDSU?
SDSU allows students to discover things about themselves and helps them become stronger in their weaker areas. In high school, I struggled to do well in chemistry, but due to SDSU’s strong chemistry program, I found chemistry to be quite enjoyable, and I became a chemistry major. If somebody had told me in high school that I would have majored in chemistry, I would have thought they were crazy.
What’s one class you took just because you wanted to?
I took anatomy (I was not pre-med yet, and it was not required for my microbiology major). My high school anatomy class came to SDSU to see the cadavers that were used in the undergraduate anatomy course. The class looked like it would be interesting, and after taking this class, I became an anatomy intern and was able to work more extensively with the cadavers. I’m glad I took the class because when I go to medical school, I’ll have a head-start on most of the other medical students, since having cadavers in an undergraduate anatomy course is quite rare.
Why should students who want to go into science come to SDSU?
Students interested in science should come to SDSU because in every area of science there are professors who are eager to work with and mentor students. Many undergraduate students at SDSU conduct research with professors in their area of interest, and their mentors are very facilitating in expanding their students’ horizons. |
|
