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Olivia Twu is a third year biochemistry major who became involved in research in high school. In addition to her research in Dr. Donald Dean's lab, Olivia spent last summer at the National Institutes of Health and has been offered a position there after graduation. Olivia plans to pursue a joint MD/PhD.
What advice would you give to current undergraduates who want to get involved in research?
A word of advice to those getting started in research: do not get discouraged. When asking around to join a lab, you will find that some people may ignore you, but have hope that there are people willing to take you into a lab. While you may not think you are interested in what a lab does, if you are offered a position at least try it out because you may be surprised. Also, when looking into labs to join be sure to talk to those currently working in the lab and not just the professor running the lab because this gives you the best feel of the lab environment and a good indication of the type of mentor you will have (some are very hands-off while others like to keep touch very often).
What projects are you currently working on?
My project is focused on improving the activity of a mosquitocidal Bacillus thuringiensis toxin by protein engineering. The toxin is an environmentally friendly alternative to mosquito control because of the protein’s specificity and low possibility of harm to humans. The toxicity of several other Chrystal proteins have been enhanced through site-directed mutagenesis on the loops, the unstructured region of the protein believed to be involved in binding. Cry1Aa, normally toxic only to caterpillars, was made into a mosquitocidal protein called Cry1Aa-mosq using a mosquitocidal protein Cry4Ba as a template, but the toxicity was one thousand times less active than desired. My project has involved using Cry19Aa, a naturally mosquitocidal toxin, to improve the activity of Cry1Aa-mosq.
What have you enjoyed in your experience? What were the benefits of participating in research?
There are many benefits to participating in research. Learning practical applications to what you learn in class helps you remember material better and helps to make classes easier. Presenting research is extremely beneficial as it gives you the opportunity to share your work and to sharpen your scientific communication skills. There are also many special awards and opportunities that become available when you are involved in research.
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