Stephanie (she/her/hers) is a senior Molecular and Cell Biology major, minoring in Psychological Sciences. She is the Secretary of the UConn Astronomy Association and is an active member of both the Genome Ambassadors Program and the Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society. Stephanie has served as a Student Mentor for the course, Biology 1107, and volunteers as a Crisis Counselor for the Crisis Text Hotline. She enjoys volunteering in her free time, having worked as a pre-K paraprofessional this past summer.
During her first semester at UConn, Stephanie became involved in undergraduate research in Dr. Robert Bagchi’s lab where she studied the effects of forest fragmentation on parasitoid species. In February 2021, she was awarded the Health Research Program summer internship through OUR and was offered a position with Dr. Wendy Mok at UConn Health. Over the following summer, she investigated microbial interactions and their impact on antibiotic treatment response. This past summer, Stephanie was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) award, where she shifted her focus to determining better ways to effectively treat bacterial cultures by stimulating their metabolism and working with bacterial genetics and genomics. She is continuing her work in Dr. Mok’s lab with the goal of better understanding how genetic stress responses in bacteria may contribute to their ability to resist antibiotic treatment.
Stephanie has additionally traveled across New England to present her research through posters, such as at the BIG EAST Symposium, an opportunity she was offered by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). She has presented twice at UConn, having done so at the OUR’s Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition.
Stephanie hopes to pursue graduate school in preparation for a career in clinical human genetics research and genetic counseling. She believes undergraduate research is a critical and rewarding aspect of college education and is passionate about spreading her love of science and research to others. If you would like advice or have any questions on getting involved in undergraduate research, navigating OUR funding opportunities, presenting at poster conferences, or would like to discuss non-pre-med track careers, she would love to hear from you!
Student Research Blog Posts by Stephanie: