Yennifer Barajas, COL ’27, Danbury, CT
Before my first year at Penn, I was not very familiar with what research truly was. I simply understood that researchers formed hypotheses and tested them. However, how they formed such complex hypotheses or knew how to test them was a mystery. Due to my unfamiliarity, wanting to become a researcher was not something I had anticipated. I was however very familiar with my interest in Neuroscience. Throughout the school year, I was introduced to various neuroscience researchers, their studies, and the impact they had on the field. Being exposed to the “how” of the information in the textbooks made the courses significantly more interesting and prompted me to start looking for labs where I could explore research as a career option.
Thanks to the support from career services, I was able to apply to the Jurado Lab for a summer position. This lab was the perfect opportunity for me as it allowed me to explore my interest in neuroscience and allowed me to work with an MD-PhD student to simultaneously explore my interests in becoming a doctor and a researcher. Working alongside Carl Bannerman, my mentor, I first became focused on understanding how the immune system in the brain operates primarily through interferons. I learned a lot of important information about the immune system, viruses, and how they impact our brains through research papers. As I got more comfortable in the lab, Carl allowed me to take on more complex experiments. Reading the research papers and learning to interpret the figures helped me to better understand the reasoning behind using different methods to test his hypothesis and to better understand what is known in the field.
One of the most memorable moments in the lab was when I was introduced to neuronal organoids. The organoids served as a 3D model of the brain as it mimics the complexity of neuronal connections better than 2D models. I was able to learn about how stem cells can be converted into neurons and then grown into 3D models and was eventually in-charge of maintaining them by changing the media daily. My first college exam was in an Introduction to Neuroscience course in which I had studied neurons and their structures extensively. Thus, being able to see them under the microscope after only seeing pictures in textbooks made me really excited about being able to experiment with them. I also became very comfortable with many lab techniques such as qPCRs, plaque assays, and data analysis. Understanding how these techniques work helped to deepen my understanding about how researchers know what methods to use when testing their hypothesis. I became so comfortable with these procedures that I was able to teach another student who joined us later in the summer how to do the procedures herself.
Lastly, the Jurado Lab exposed me to many other aspects of research. The lab focuses on the immune system so many other members of the lab are currently researching the immune system during pregnancy. During lab meetings, I was able to listen to their research which broadened my knowledge of the immune system and other research methods. Additionally, I learned more about the process of getting a PhD and how research is published. All of these skills will help to shape my future career path and have helped to prepare me to achieve my goals.
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
