Juliana Restrepo

ABOUT THE RESEARCHER:

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

I conducted my research with Dr. Bin Chen and focused on examining the effects of redox balance on ALA-mediated PpIX accumulation.

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

It is very interesting to be able to learn so much about a biological system through fluorescent analysis. When you’re doing it sometimes you don’t realize how fascinating it is and how far technology has brought us.

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

My USURF experience brought a lot of learning skills in the lab on how to independently conduct experiments and learn to analyze the result to determine their significance.

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

Research is never certain. Sometimes the results you hypothesize are not the ones you see, which can be a bit frustrating. However, what we need to realize is that just because it’s not what you expect doesn’t mean it is wrong or has no use. All data collected brings you one step closer to understanding. 

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

Overall, my USRF experience has made me feel confident about continuing my career in research during graduate school.

6.     Tell us something interesting about yourself.

When most people look at me they assume I am American. I am actually Colombian and Spanish is my first language. I am the first one in my household to attend University and I will proudly continue on to a graduate level education. 

7.   How has the COVID pandemic impacting you and how are you coping with it ? 

COVID has impacted me in various forms. It impacted my USURF opportunity to conduct my research during the summer. Fortunately I did it during the last semester, but when you’re taking classes and filling out applications, I had much less time than I would’ve over the summer. It is also impacting my interviewing process for graduate school. TO cope with everything I just look forward to the future and take everything one day at a time.