2022 Undergraduate Summer Studentship
Project title: Sex differences in immunomodulatory glycans
How would you describe your research project to someone without a scientific background?
Our bodies use different methods of communication for different cells to interact with one another. What my project aims to identify is specific differences in the communicator molecules of certain cells between the sexes. Ultimately, we are using a series of techniques to take a very focused look at what these molecules on cells are like, so that we can set the path to better understand the reason behind differences in immune responses between females and males.
What impact do you hope this project makes once completed?
I hope that once completed this project is able to strongly support the path to understanding immunological differences between males and females. More importantly, I hope this project stimulates further research into phenotypic differences (physical or biochemical characteristics) between the sexes in health-related fields, which is an area of research that has been severely understudied.
How will the support from Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology help you?
The support from the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology allows me to gain contact with other researchers. From what I understand, academia is highly dependent upon opportunities to obtain funding and awards in order to conduct research. With increased interactions with other researchers in similar fields, I will be able to advance my academic career. Additionally, gaining contact with researchers will allow me to directly learn from the experts of my field and provide me with invaluable experiences.
What first attracted you to science?
When I was younger, I realized that the more I studied, the more scientific questions I had. Scientific fields provide an unique opportunity for continuous learning in an objective manner; the more you discover, the more there is for you to question and explore. Additionally, health-related science adds an additional layer of importance, as the more you are able to uncover, the closer you are to causing a direct positive impact in the lives of people all over the world.
What are you inspired by? Who inspires you? Why?
My biggest inspirations are my parents. From a young age, my parents have instilled in me the values I should follow, and they provided me with direct explanations as to why they subscribe to the ideals in which they believe. Since then they have not only provided me with care and love, but also with examples of the people I want to be as I grow older. My motivation to pursue and achieve as much as I can is in no small part a direct result of my hope to one day make them as proud of me, as I am of them.
If you could live in any other time, when might that be?
If I could live in any other time, I would live centuries in the future. I have many questions about how our society will deal with current issues within my lifetime. I would especially like to know how future generations will deal with issues that transcend generations. How did we respond to climate change in a sustainable way, and did it work? How did we increase opportunities to those in marginalized communities to achieve a fairer and more equitable society? How can we combat health-crises on an efficient and international scale? These are all questions the answers to which will not be fully uncovered in my lifetime. So if the opportunity ever arose, I would like to see how those who come after me deal with these issues in their time.