Haiying (Emma) Chen |
Country: China (university in Australia)
Mentor: Jin Chen
Hi! I am Emma Chen from China. I am currently a student of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne and I am completing my bachelor degree at the end of this year.
My interests in biomedical science are specifically Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, and I am really lucky to join Prof. Jin Chen’s lab in a project to establish new therapies for lung cancer by manipulating the Eph receptors, the largest family of receptor tyrosine kinase. It is not only a wonderful combination of my interests, but also an excellent way to consolidate my knowledge in theory as well as to learn laboratory techniques.
I am very excited about being a member of the VISRA 2012 (southern hemisphere summer) because we are offered unique opportunities to experience life as research students at a prestigious university and also to find out pathways for future studies or research in the United States. It is a great university with rich resources, extensive networking in academia and the industry, and vibrant people. We are very well taken care of by VISRA organizers and this program is definitely recommended.
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Courtney Cini |
Country: Australia
Mentor: Alyssa Hasty
My name is Courtney Cini, and I am a student from the University of Melbourne, Australia. On my return, I intend to successfully complete my final year of undergraduate studies-with a major in Pharmacology. After my degree, I would like to continue my studies. However, at this stage, I am still in the process of deciding the path I am going to pursue.
Throughout my internship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, I will have the opportunity to work under the supervision of Dr. Alyssa Hasty, a dedicated investigator in the Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Department at this institution. This will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting and fortunate life journeys that I will ever experience.
The focus of the Hasty lab is on the role of macrophages in adipose tissue (AT) and their contribution to adipose tissue inflammation resulting in the development of insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes. Recently, the Hasty lab has become interested in inflammatory macrophage accumulation and the mechanisms that regulate this process. The lab is currently focused on decreased apoptosis as a mechanism by which inflammatory macrophage accumulation is increased in the obese state. The aim of my project will be to determine whether anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory macrophages display differences in susceptibility to apoptosis. This will encompass a range of techniques related to tissue cultures, cell treatments, protein isolation, Western Blotting and confocal immunofluorescent studies of adipose tissue.
Not only is this program going to enhance my laboratory techniques, methods and research experience, but it will also serve as a strong foundation for further research studies on my return to Australia, and possibly, back here at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Furthermore, it has always been a dream for me to do research in a different country- and at the moment, I am living that dream!
I would strongly recommend this program to anyone who has an interest for medical research. My experience at Vanderbilt has only just begun and all I can say is that it is already beyond words! The beauty of Vanderbilt and the city of Nashville, in general, is astonishing.
Finally, I was humbled by the warm welcome that I received from everyone at the institution, especially from the VISRA team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Kathy Gould (Director of VISRA), Amanda Connolly (VISRA coordinator), Dr. Alyssa Hasty (Principal Investigator) and the rest of the VISRA team for transforming my dream into a reality. |
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ZunMing (Hunter) Lim |
ZunMing (Hunter) Lim
Country: Malaysia (university in Australia)
Mentor: Doug McMahon
Hi there, I am ZunMing. I finished my high school back in Malaysia, and subsequently did a Western Australian Foundation in Perth and then continued on to pursue a Bachelor of Science majoring in Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne. I had just finished my second year in my BSc at the time of VISRA. I have always loved Science, and by Year 10, I fell in love with the brain specifically and decided to accept the challenge of solving the puzzle of how the brain works. This was an easy –to-pose question, but the path to finding an answer has taken researchers and scientists on a challenging yet rewarding journey ever since. And I wanted to be on that journey as well.
I knew I wanted to do Science. What I wanted to find out was whether I could do Science for a lifetime, I guess. And VISRA was just the program that would answer that question.
This summer (or winter), I have been lucky enough to be accepted and placed in Dr. Doug McMahon’s lab. His lab focuses on three linked systems in the Central Nervous System, the visual, circadian and serotonergic systems that are the engines that govern our sight, bodily daily rhythms and regulate our moods. I do not yet possess the complete details on the specific project that I will be a part of, but I am definitely excited to know that these brain systems are fundamental in furthering our understanding of disorders such as schizophrenia, winter depression, bipolar disorders and myopia. On top of that, I am sure I will enjoy learning the variety of lab techniques practised in the lab, such as gene knock-outs and reporter genes. I have never actually done any research work before, and I am as exhilarated as I am daunted by it all .
For fear of giving away too much details of the program (as I personally would hate it if somebody ruined a good surprise by telling me exactly what to expect), I definitely must say VISRA does a good job of balancing the research experience with the non-academic stuff. There is a good amount of excursions and sports (Go basketball!) and sight-seeing mixed in, and the VISRA team is just amazing and really helpful. There is just a wonderful and supportive network here and I am sure that gives peace of mind for anyone who is trying something new. It was also a real eye-opener to come to US and see how the education system works here and understand how PhD is done here in Vanderbilt.
As for the city, I feel that Nashville is just the right fusion between city and town. I love the buildings – brick buildings that are no more than two-storey tall gracefully spaced and spanning down a slightly winding road with just the right dose of modern architecture peppered in between. The city is growing, alive with beer, music and culture. The bus fares are cheaper than I imagined and I seriously think every bus driver that I’ve met is either very friendly or a comedian-in-disguise. The people are equally nice, and I would say that the cost of living is very affordable too.
If I have one thing to say about VISRA, it’s this: Apply for it! As for myself, no matter how my research experience turns out and I discover whether I like researching as a career or not, I am happy that I’m here, that I’ve tried and that I’ve had the experience.
If you have quickly skim-read to this part and do not appreciate the length of my rambling, it would suffice to read the above paragraph. No hard feelings. Cheers. |
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Mitchell Nye-Wood |
Country: New Zealand
Mentor: Kevin Schey
Hi, I’m Mitchell Nye-Wood, from Hamilton, New Zealand. I’ve studied at the University of Auckland for four years pursuing a Bachelor of Science specialising in Biomedical Science. In my fourth year I was admitted into an Honours programme spent conducting primary research in the department of Optometry and Vision Science. My project focussed on applying MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to the ocular lens and observing distributions of small molecules, which vary with radius and change with age. It’s a matter of time before the lens becomes cloudy, causing cataracts.
In this project I regularly referred to literature from Vanderbilt’s Mass Spectrometry Research Centres and in particular the Schey lab group. Vanderbilt is the site of the National Research Resource for Imaging Mass Spectrometry and was where MALDI imaging mass spectrometry was pioneered some 15 years ago, and continues to be a great centre of science and R&D. It’s too bad the mass spectrometer with a 15 Tesla electromagnet arrives a few months after VISRA 2013 ends – well in time for VISRA 2014.
I heard of VISRA during my Honours year and realised it posed an amazing opportunity: to practice a technique using cutting-edge technology, alongside expert scientists, generating meaningful data, all in Music City!
While pursuing this opportunity has temporarily taken me away from the society and time zone I’m used to, being here means seeing and doing things I could have otherwise only imagined.
Nashville’s atmosphere has been eye-opening. The people I’ve met are friendly, the music scene pervasive (in a good way) and, coming from New Zealand, the buildings themselves seem supersized. Being in Nashville puts places like Graceland and even New York within travelling distance, and having a progressive American city literally on your doorstep can’t be overlooked.
I have every confidence VISRA is a life-changing journey. Discovering new places, ideas, skills, friends and colleagues are very important to me and VISRA is a great way to do all this and more. I would strongly encourage like-minded students to test their comfort zones and make the most of VISRA’s amazing opportunity.
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Susana Castro |
Country: Peru
Mentor: Rebecca Ihrie
My name is Susana Castro, I come from Peru and I just finished my bachelor degree in Biology and Chemistry at the Cayetano Heredia University.
I like to think of science as solving a puzzle. In the case of biomedical science, this puzzle is really important to a person’s life. That’s why I am so interested in the biomedical research, especially in the host-parasite interaction, molecular and cell biology of cancer and Neuroscience.
In Peru, I have been working with parasites and thanks to the VISRA program, I am able to exploring others areas of my interest. Currently, I am working in the Cancer Biology Department, in Dr. Rebecca’s Ihrie Lab which is focused in the development of the neural stem cell niche and the etiology and treatment of brain tumors.
So far my experience in Nashville is incredible, the people here is so kind and hospitable. The city is so peaceful and yet so modern, So for the Next VISRA participants, if you want to became a biomedical researcher, the VISRA program is a great point to start your career. If you are not sure about it, take this program as an good opportunity to find that out. Take advantadge of this experience. |
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Tessa Popay |
Country: New Zealand
Mentor: Randy Blakely
I have recently completed a Bachelor of Science specialising in Biomedical Science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In this degree I focussed on cellular and molecular biomedicine, as well as pursuing my interests in neuroscience and genetics. In 2013 I will continue my education at the University of Auckland in the form of a Bachelor of Science with Honours, again specialising in Biomedical Science. For this programme, I will complete a dissertation that looks at the molecular mechanism by which anaesthesia disrupts the biological clock using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. After my honours year, I intend to pursue a PhD in either the US or the UK.
The VISRA programme is an amazing opportunity to experience US culture, student life and learn more about the education system, particularly graduate school. Nashville is definitely the best city I have ever been to and I am really enjoying the kindness and approachability of the locals. The Vanderbilt campus is beautiful and is very large compared to my home university!
During my time at Vanderbilt I am working in the laboratory of Randy Blakely, in which I will be using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to identify genes involved in dopamine transport. I am really looking forward to the rest of the VISRA programme and the research that I will be doing.
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Kathy Gould, Ph.D.
Amanda Connolly