Conor Glass

 1. Who are you doing research with this summer and what kind of research project are you doing ?

I am doing in-vitro work in Dr. Mercier’s research lab, working with a small novel molecule that selectively kills triple negative breast cancer cells. I have been mainly investigating the effect of the drug on tumoroids grown in a 3D culture of Matrigel.

 2. What do you find fascinating in the research that you’re doing ?

The most fascinating aspect of the research I am doing is the idea of doing groundbreaking research. There is a slight rush of adrenaline you get when doing an experiment for the first time and not knowing what the results are going to be, or the impact those results may have.

 3. What skills are you learning through the USURF experience ?

Through USURF, I was given the opportunity to stay at campus over the summer and advance my lab skills and techniques. I have learned how to better organize myself and how to carefully plan for experiments of my own to make sure everything goes to plan. 

 4. What are the challenges you’re encountering in your research ?

 Some big problems I have faced during research have been getting reliable data during the first few tests of a new experiment. Whenever an experiment is run for the first time, there are a bunch of unknown variables that could come in to play that were not accounted for because of not having experience with that particular assay. However, as the assay is run multiple times, data becomes more reliable and reproduceable as more experience is gained.

 5. How is your USURF experience impacting the way you view your field ?

I have always been extremely interested in research, which is why I decided to be a Pharmacology and Toxicology major. I never really knew how hard it was to obtain all of the data needed for a specific project or how long some days in the lab could be. People in this field are very dedicated to being at the forefront of discovery, and my respect for the field has grown tremendously. 

 6. Tell us something interesting about yourself.

When I was in fourth grade, I had an atypical mole on my left ear that was pre-cancerous for melanoma. I had to have surgery to remove some of the surrounding area of skin to make sure everything was okay. That experience eventually helped me discover that pharmaceutical research was what I wanted to do with my life.