My summer experience was nothing short of exceptional. For the past six weeks, I was able to dive into the field of nephrology with some of the most renowned research physicians in their field.
During my time in the research labs, I was able to take some of my seemingly basic chemistry and biology knowledge and apply it to a research project that was investigating where a specific protein, APOL1, is located within cells. This protein is associated with renal failure in African Americans. The APOL1 protein is a by-product of their body’s evolutionary defense against Trypanosoma brucei, which is commonly called African Sleeping Sickness. The importance of identifying where this protein resides within specific cells could help to better shed light on how it influences cells individually.
I helped to experimentally construct the DNA to be put into a cell so that way it would produce a marker that would bind to the protein, APOL1, and indicate its location when examined under a microscope.