Meet Poorna Balakumar ’23, an OUR Peer Research Ambassador (PRA) majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology, Pathobiology, and Asian Arts, Culture, and Feminism.
What is the focus of your research?
I currently conduct research under Dr. Geary in the Pathobiology Department. The focus of my research is to understand the mechanisms of how different microbial pathogens cause respiratory disease in humans, and to develop vaccines against these pathogens.
I also started conducting researching under Dr. Cohen in the Drama Department. The focus of my research there is to explore the different representations of gender in Indian theatre throughout history, and to analyze the gendered experience of first-generation women learning Indian classical dance transnationally.
Why did you get involved in research?
I got involved in scientific research because in middle school, I had read this book about infectious diseases (The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, highly recommend by the way) and I just had so many unanswered questions. As scary and violent as some bacteria and viruses were – think Ebola, Marburg, smallpox, anthrax, even COVID-19 – I wanted, needed, to know exactly what made these pathogens so dangerous. Was it their shape, their genome, their receptors? How was it that something so small could cause physiological and epidemiological damage so big? That curiosity, that desire to understand those mechanisms, is what inspired me to get involved in pathobiology research.
I only very recently got involved in arts/humanities research. I have been a dancer my whole life, but never really thought about exploring it beyond a practical context – learning, practicing and performing. I took a class this semester, Asian Theatre and Performance, and was surprised to learn just how much theatre and performance have influenced and reflected sociopolitical structures and cultural phenomena. I was inspired to continue with this kind of interdisciplinary analysis beyond the classroom in a research context.
What advice would you give to aspiring student researchers?
There is always an opportunity out there for you. If there is something in this world that you love, and that you love learning about – whether it’s practical, whether it’s related to your major or career, whether it’s even being studied here at UConn – there is always a way for you to explore that curiosity, and nothing should discourage you from exploring that. I highly advocate for students getting involved in research they’re not just interested in, but passionate about. Introspect and ask yourselves, “What gets me excited? What is important to me? What can I talk about, or learn about, all day?”
What do you enjoy the most about participating in research?
What I have most enjoyed about my research experience so far has been the people. I am very grateful for the little family I have at the Geary Laboratory, and I would genuinely consider my graduate students and fellow undergraduates my friends. Some cute traditions that we have as a lab are: playing Exploding Kittens during our breaks, marking our heights with sticky notes on the front door (only to make fun of the short people, of course), and playing a lab-friendly version of Capture the Flag in which each lab hides a sticky note in the other person’s lab and has to find it as soon as possible.
Click here for more information on Poorna and other OUR Peer Research Ambassadors.