Pauline Sales

I am a Bay Area Native who grew up in Daly City and Pacifica. I got my BA in Film and Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. Prior to joining the CCSF Biotech program, I had been a freelance Production Assistant in the film industry in Atlanta for a few years and then I moved back to the Bay Area. 

I got interested in biotech because of my family’s history with cancer and Alzheimer's Disease. Then I attended the CCSF BioSymposium to find out more about their Biotech program. I learned about the Bridge to Biosciences program, which is designed for those without a background in science. I was convinced that I could succeed in the program, so I started taking classes and have since completed the Lab Assistant Certificate and Stem Cell Certificate. I also did an internship at Cel Analytical, a commercial lab that regularly monitors water at the local and state level to make sure their clients are complying with EPA requirements.

Currently, I am interning in the Huang Lab at Gladstone Institutes which studies the causes and progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and looks to develop therapeutic strategies for AD. I grow iPSCs and differentiate them into neurons. These neurons are then passed on to other lab members who test different drugs on them. My project involves testing different media on the neurons during the maturation phase to see if they can reach full maturation at a faster rate. 

Decreasing the differentiation timeline will increase efficiency and lower cost for disease modeling and drug screening. Finding therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease is important because there is currently no cure or way to halt its progression. Current treatments only treat the symptoms and not the disease. Alzheimer's Disease is one of the top 10 causes of death in the US.

The lab skills and knowledge, I have gained from my internship have made me more confident about entering the workforce. I had very little experience with cell culture prior to the internship and had no experience working with iPSCs. Now, I can differentiate iPSCs and grow them into neurons without the cells dying or becoming contaminated over a two-month period.

After my internship, I plan to complete my AS in Biotech this summer and apply for academic and industry jobs as either an RA or a lab assistant. My hope is to continue to research Alzheimer’s Disease or other neurodegenerative diseases.