Hello, my name is Tessa Eller. I am attending Indiana University Purdue-University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and I am majoring in biology with a pre-med concentration. Currently I am interested in attending medical school to become a family physician or an oncologist. My freshman year I participated in the first-year biology apprenticeship program. I worked under Dr. Teri Belecky-Adams with her graduate students and PhD researchers who were studying the development of a functional eye. I was able to learn and perfect many laboratory skills in this position, and I'm hoping with my new internship my skills will continue to grow. This year I interned for Dr. Homer Twigg. He is a pulmonary doctor and a member of the IU School of Medicine. Currently, he and his team are researching the effects of viral infections on inflammation and aging. We use many participant samples to determine why some individuals get sick easier than others.