THE BENEFITS OF CONDUCTING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Pamela Rosales .

My name is Pamela Rosales and I graduated from Salem State University in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. I am a first-generation Hispanic woman from a lowincome family which are part of my identities, but they don’t define me. Above all, I am a scientist, but I didn’t always identify with this. I began my undergraduate career with the intention of attending medical school and becoming a doctor specializing in the hospital but soon discovered that this path wasn’t right for me. Being at Salem State and a part of the Biology Department has introduced to me to not only professors but peers that encourage my passion for science. I was unaware of what scientific research was until the beginning of my junior year when I tackled on 3 capstone courses and one of my favorite courses taught by the two wonderful professors, Dr. Tracy Ware and Dr. Harry Pariser, in one semester.

While there are several other courses that have given me the foundation and background I needed, BIO404: Genetics of Human Disease and BIO313: Molecular Biology are two of the courses deserve recognition for their impact on my interest in scientific research. In BIO 404 I learned how to dissect and discuss journal articles, the complexity of epigenetic disease mechanisms, modern techniques used in genetics such as next-generation sequencing, and most importantly, what allowed me to realize the path I’m meant to be on, writing a grant proposal for an experiment I designed using bioinformatics tools. In BIO313, I learned about the magnificent world of biological systems through a molecular lens and designed my own gene cloning experiment. Thanks to Dr. Jason Brown, Dr. Tracy Ware, and many other professors, I further developed as an undergraduate student and decided to apply for a summer research internship which I didn’t know at the time would be a milestone and one of my greatest achievements as a young scientist. I worked at the Ragon Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Shiv Pillai who specializes in autoimmune diseases, and I pivoted a new research question this lab had developed. I was able to use my knowledge learned in the courses mentioned and apply it to real scientific research and I did an incredible research project where I began the process of characterizing autoreactive B cells that recognize autoantigens in the autoimmune disease, IgG4-Related Disease (IgG4-RD). My experience was enjoyable, and I got to meet brilliant immunologists which have propelled me to apply to graduate school for my PhD. I will be returning to the Ragon Institute in the summer of 2023 where I will continue to investigate the questions we developed.

During my last semester at Salem State, I was invited to join the lab of Dr. Laura Laranjo who investigates the effects of FDA-approved drugs on DNA mutations using E. coli. I am delighted to be a part of this lab and contribute to the scientific data by using my own skills I have developed. Through all of this and some more, I am going to Brandeis University in the Fall of 2023 to earn my PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology. This was made possible through the amazing professors at Salem State and my advisor, Dr. Tess Killpack who has seen me grow as a person, woman, and scientist since 2019 and I will now honor the hard work and brilliance of these people and of myself at Brandeis University