Student Success Stories
Over the past several years, students from across the continental United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico applied to participate in the INRO program. Outstanding undergraduate and graduate students were chosen to participate each year based on their overall academic excellence and their interest in biomedical research.
Eleca Dunham
Research That Affects Change
INRO, Eleca thought, would give her a nice introduction to the Institute, where she was pretty sure she wanted to do her postdoc. She was pleasantly surprised, though, by the amount of support she received. “As a graduate student, you feel isolated, not sure if you are making the right decisions― it was nice to come to a program that had such a support system.”
“I knew this was the Institute for me.” At NIAID, she explained, it is not just about research. “You meet people involved in writing, administration, public policy work. The world is really your oyster when you come here.” In fact, it is this merging of different disciplines that Eleca finds so attractive about NIAID. Ultimately, she wants to do work that goes a step beyond the bench, work that “feeds directly into public policy or disease management.”
After only 2 years at NIAID, it seems Eleca’s work is paying off. Her recently published paper on the different evolutionary trajectories of European avian-like and classical swine H1N1 influenza A viruses was the Journal of Virology’s second most read article for the June 2009 issue.
Ihunanya Mbata
Ihunanya had set her goals―complete her bachelor’s at Wesleyan College (Macon, Georgia), do a postbac traineeship while applying to medical schools, get her M.D./Ph.D. from Duke University School of Medicine, then become a surgeon. What Ihunanya didn’t know before coming to NIAID was that these goals would change ever so slightly, yet monumentally.
After attending INRO, Ihunanya signed on to do a postbac traineeship under the mentorship of Philip M. Murphy, M.D., in the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology. Spending the year at NIAID, says Ihunanya, gave her a new perspective and helped to direct her career. “NIAID increased my interest in global health. It was helpful to see other researchers, such as Dr. Thomas C. Quinn (NIAID’s International HIV and STD Unit),” who are working in global health. Though her words are matter of fact, you can’t help but hear the passion in her voice as Ihunanya talks about this new career path.
No longer considering a Ph.D. to complement her M.D., Ihunanya is thinking about getting a master of science in global health, which will give her the background she needs for her new career path. She soon begins her 3rd year at the Duke University School of Medicine, where she will be on her way to Botswana to do her clinical work as a result of being selected as a Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholar. The Botswana-Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Partnership is a collaborative research and training initiative between the Ministry of Health of the republic of Botswana and the Harvard AIDS Institute. “I’m thrilled to begin work in global health,” says Ihunanya.
Tshaka Cunningham
From Science to Business to Science
The first male in his family to go to college, much less an Ivy League school, Tshaka felt pressure to go into business. Deciding to follow his heart, Tshaka went on to earn a Ph.D. in Virology from Rockefeller University, and did fellowships at the Louis Pasteur Institute in Paris, at NIAID, and at NCI. Finding himself at a crossroad once again and ready to take a step away from the bench, Tshaka began to explore his options.
Today, Tshaka is a scientific program manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he and his team fund $150 million annually for research that advances the health of America’s veterans. Although he is no longer in the lab full time, Tshaka still has “a toe,” as he calls it, in the door of research. The many journals he reads and his adjunct assistant professor position at Howard University teaching medical virology keep him up to speed on the science. Is it enough? “I am very satisfied,” says Tshaka.
Of his experience at NIAID, Tshaka says “NIAID offers that high level training.” His advice to others, “Make the best of the opportunity -- get on well with your lab mentor and make as many connections as you can inside and outside of NIH,” because you never know which direction you may go.
Imran Babar
“The programs sounded like an exciting opportunity to learn about NIAID research.…”
As an undergraduate at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, Imran Babar became fascinated with basic cell and molecular biology. On the advice of a professor, he applied to INRO and was accepted.
Imran met and interviewed with several NIAID investigators. Dr. Stephen F. Porcella, chief of the Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana, sparked his interest. “I wanted to learn microarray analysis, and researchers at the RML were doing a lot of it.”
Under Dr. Porcella’s mentorship, Imran learned how to set up an effective control, gained a wealth of experience with microarray analysis, received advice regarding graduate school, and was able to coauthor a publication in a respected peer-reviewed journal.
Imran’s research experience motivated him to apply to some of the Nation’s top graduate schools. He entered the Ph.D. program in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University.
Mila Ortigoza
“I was thrilled to learn that the research component was definitely something I could incorporate with my medical career.… INRO solidified for me that research.”
At INRO, Mila attended scientific lectures and had the opportunity to interview with several researchers, including Edward A. Berger, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases. She talked with Dr. Berger about the research in his lab and what she might do if she signed on for a research traineeship. After talking with Dr. Berger, Mila says, “I had no doubt that I wanted to take a year off and learn more about independent research at NIH.”
Today, Mila is pursuing her M.D./Ph.D. at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York through the Medical Scientists Training Program, an NIH-funded program. She hopes to practice medicine and eventually to have her clinical experiences influence the research she ultimately would like to do in virology.
Juliana Lewis
Juliana Lewis attended INRO on the advice of her mentor at Northeastern University in Boston. She had just completed her first laboratory experience as an undergraduate and was sparked with a newly found interest in biomedical research. Her mentor thought that INRO might help Juliana decide whether she wanted to move forward with her original goal of attending medical school or perhaps take another path.
“At INRO, I learned about the science behind the medicine,” Juliana explained. “I realized that there are additional paths that will lead me toward my career goal of helping mankind lead a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life. Biomedical research happened to be a side of medicine that sparked my interest on a deeper level than hands-on patient care.”
Juliana did a summer internship position with the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology at NIAID. She then secured a postbaccalaureate position at the same laboratory. Intending to stay for 1 year, Juliana signed on to continue her research as a postbaccalaureate trainee for an additional 2 years.
Juliana is now pursuing her doctoral degree in immunology at Tufts University in Boston. She speaks openly about her change from her original desire to attend medical school to her current path, that of obtaining a Ph.D. “It’s an exciting milestone in my life.”
Donald Cheatem
“INRO superseded my goals. The research described was very cutting-edge and groundbreaking.”
As a graduate student at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Donald applied to INRO to gain a better understanding of research opportunities available. He knew that he wanted to pursue his interest in immunology, obtain a medical degree, and conduct research at a teaching hospital. He also knew that NIAID was at the forefront of research in immunology and would be a wonderful place for him to feed his desire for discovery through research. INRO offered the chance to see exactly what opportunities might be available to him.
Donald spent a summer honing his research techniques and gaining a broader understanding of research protocols through NIAID’s summer internship program.
Donald continued his educational training at the University of Illinois in the M.D./Ph.D. program.
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This program offered by the: Office of Training and Diversity, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health