Daniela Medina, COL ’26, Laredo, TX
This past summer, I researched on chronic kidney disease with the NIH and NIDDK. I was allowed to pick my coordinating center and lab funded by the NIH, and I chose to work at the Susztak Lab, located at the University of Pennsylvania, where I have been for the previous academic year.
During the 12-week program, I worked 40 hours a week under the guidance of my mentor Dr. Katalin Susztak, MD Ph.D. and Magaiver Silva, Ph.D. Our work primarily focused on nucleic acid sensors within kidney epithelial cells. I oversaw cell culturing, mitochondria extraction, mtDNA extraction, qPCR, and more. Our main mission was to analyze the damage done to the kidney epithelial cells, specifically in relation to ER stress and fibrosis, when the mitochondrial DNA and RNA had bonded to the nucleic acid sensors.
After the program, I was flown out to the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland to present my work and teach others about chronic kidney disease. I broaden my network and strengthened my relationship with the National Institute of Health thanks to the Career Services Summer Funding Grant.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
