This February has been my two-year anniversary of joining Samir Mitragotri lab. I jumped into research the winter quarter of my freshman year through EUREKA (Early Undergraduate Research Experience and Knowledge Acquisition), a 10-week summer research program. Being one of the first to join a research lab amongst my peers, I was the go-to person if they needed advice about getting their feet into research. Their number one concern after finding a lab was if they can manage interning in a lab and keeping up with the demanding academics. I also came across this problem when finals were just around the corner. My advice: communicate, communicate, and communicate! Most graduate students and postdoctoral fellows mentors are understanding that your academics come first before research. Communicate effectively when you can and cannot come into lab due to various circumstances with your mentors and they will work with you. Don’t be afraid to ask or talk to them about it! Good luck!
This summer, I was given the opportunity to be a part of UC LEADS (University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced DegreeS), a two-year undergraduate research program. UC LEADS offers a variety of benefits such as paid research experience in the summer at UCSB and throughout the academic year, participation in the UC-wide symposium, GRE preparation and so on. The most awesome benefit that UC LEADS offers, in my opinion, is the chance to participate in research at any UC campus of your choice during the second summer. This means you are not limited to work with the faculty mentors at UCSB, but faculty mentors throughout the UC system in STEM. How awesome is that!
My research interests are in the field of bioengineering. I have been looking at a few professors at each of the UC campuses. There are professors who are doing work in tissue engineering, stem cell research, and using liposomes to deliver drugs. All of their research seem so interesting! I would love to work with all of them. However, I have to choose one of them.
The visiting UC LEADS scholars from other UC campuses I met this summer were awesome and very excited to work with the professors at UCSB. I’m sure my experience at the other UC campus will be amazing too. I look forward to be have an awesome summer!.jpg)
The picture of visiting UC LEADS scholars and UCSB UC LEADS scholars
My summer project is to work on the individual release of mucoadhesive patches. Currently, injection of the peptides is the most effective method to deliver proteins. Mucoadhesive patches are intestinal patches that was developed to orally delivery peptides. Oral delivery is noninvasive and patient friendly compared to injection. There are 2 main barriers that make the oral delivery of peptides difficult. One being the presence of acid and enzymes in the stomach that readily degrade the proteins. When proteins lose their structure, they lose their function. Even if the proteins safely get to the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed, the protein molecules are too big to pass through the intestinal wall. The mucoadhesive patch is made to adhere to the intestinal wall and force the small intestine to absorb all the drug that is loaded on the patch. These patches will be delivered to the small intestine using a enteric-coated gelatin capsule. Enteric coating protects the capsules from degrading in acid in the stomach, but later dissolves in a neutral pH in the small intestine releasing the patches.
The problem with mucoadhesive patches are that they become very adhesive when they are introduced to mucous. When the capsules start degrading, water leaks in. As a result, the patches stick to each other before they are released into the intestine. My project is to figure out a way to get these patches to have them released from the capsules individually.
I always thought research was an area for “smart” people. After participating in research for almost one year and a half, I came to realize that anyone can participate in research as long as they have a commitment and passion for science. Participating in research early in my undergraduate career is one of the best decisions I have made.