COVER STORY
Partners in
Success UMASS MEDICAL SCHOOL INVESTS IN THE FUTURE OF THE CITY OF WORCESTER
n a late spring morning in the biotech lab at Worcester Technical High School, a spirited class discussion focuses on the remarkable places the students have been and on the places they are going. Marleen Nunez, 17, spent her senior year of high school studying gene therapy in the lab of one of the world’s leading scientists in the field, Guangping Gao, PhD, the Penelope Booth Rockwell Professor in Biomedical Research and professor of microbiology & physiological systems at UMass Medical School in Worcester, where she earned a citation for research on a potential 8 | 2019
therapy for treatment-resistant high cholesterol. “Dr. Gao’s lab made a huge difference for me,” said Nunez, who is now a freshman at UMass Amherst studying molecular biology and biochemistry. “At school, they teach you an overall, broad idea of many parts of science. In Dr. Gao’s lab, it is more intense and focused. Being so young and presenting to people who are older than me provided me with more confidence. Knowing that I can do that at this age, I can just imagine what I can do when I’m 20. I think I’m a step ahead.”
