Nikhil Grobes, COL ’26, Philadelphia, PA
I identified Dr. Lisa Schwartz’s behavioral oncology lab last summer because of its patient-centered nature. The Schwartz lab’s greatest purpose is to identify and target the barriers that block Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) cancer survivors from transitioning to adult-oriented care, and that prevent them from attending long term follow-up appointments and learning about how to navigate health as a cancer survivor. I felt extremely impassioned by this objective because it’s something that anyone can look at and identify is a problem in society. Furthermore, I learned about the multidisciplinary nature of healthcare outcomes and how they can depend on indicators not even necessarily related to biomedical factors and instead on more psychosocial factors. Just like last summer, this lab has exposed me to situations and environments that are extremely valuable for a pre-med student, and I am very grateful to have the tailored patient interactions that I did this summer.
I was also very grateful to have the team of mentors that I did because they were not only great educators, but just great people. Coming back to the lab with the previous experience of last summer, it was easy to come in and already be familiar with how the lab conducts its research. However, as a sort of senior figure in the lab, there were now new students who I could meet and also teach. Hence, this summer role became very centered around mentorship and sort of new responsibility for myself. I still can’t say enough how I appreciated the lab’s trust in me to take on the role that I did this summer. Furthermore, everyone was understanding about the time it took to complete tasks, and it felt like my ideas and suggestions would actually be heard and taken into account. I had my own, separate, interpersonal relationship with everyone in some way. Moreover, there were opportunities to consistently meet with and communicate with everyone in the lab to talk about both research and just life in general. It was clear that everyone in the lab held my best interests as a priority, and that they genuinely wanted to create the best possible PURM experience for myself and the other students.
As a result of conducting this research, I realized that a future in research is not out of the equation. Previously, I was only interested in pursuing medical school along with an MD degree. The research I did this summer confirmed that I am very patient-oriented and that in my life, I definitely want to be able to see and help patients. However, I realize now that I can still see and help patients through research as well.
All in all, I am content with my summer experience. The great thing about PURM is that you never know the full extent of the opportunities, experiences, and relationships that can come from it.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2025 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
