Ever since I was little, scientific research has interested me. At Dartmouth, I was able to continue pursuing my passion for research with Todd Miller’s lab at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Being a part of the Miller lab has exposed me to new scientific techniques, new ways of approaching problems and creating solutions, and has confirmed for me that research is something that I want to pursue in the future. The people I work with at DHMC have become much more than just co-workers, but they’ve grown to be friends and mentors, guiding me through not only research, but classes, career plans, and the future. Finding this community for myself at Dartmouth was as simple as sending an email to Professor Miller, indicating that I was interested in his research and would be honored to learn more and be a part of it. The endless support that I’ve experienced here at Dartmouth is unparalleled and I am so thankful for this community.
As an undergraduate researcher in the Miller lab, I have had the opportunity to delve into the perplexing disease that is breast cancer. I’ve taken my passion for breast cancer and have spent my off-term in Utah researching the immunological complexities behind tumor metastasis and invasion. In Utah, as part of Alana Welm’s lab at Huntsman Cancer Institute, I’ve been able to explore the impacts of a specific protein and its isoforms on regulating the immune response. Using imaging techniques, molecular biology methods such as Western Blots, and even mouse models, we’ve been able to isolate a specific isoform of a protein that when removed, exponentially increases the immune response, decreasing tumor growth and increasing survival rates of breast cancer patients. Both my experiences with the Miller lab and the Welm lab have shown me the cooperativity of the research world and I’ve enjoyed being able to pursue my interests with the support of Dartmouth. The skills that I’ve learned through research - organizing and analyzing data, communicating results, planning out experiments, etc. - have been invaluable and applicable to all facets of my undergraduate career.