Although I am currently seeking
a concentration in microbiology, I did not take the course until the spring of my
senior year. I quickly discovered my powerful fascination of the subject–
everything from epidemiology to virology to immunology was enthralling to
me. Luckily, my undergraduate collaborator
Caroline introduced me to Dr. Schwebach, who received his Ph.D. in microbiology
and immunology. Once I understood his ideas to continue the Phagefinders
program at George Mason University, I knew I had to be a part of it. As an
aspiring physician, this project is not only important to me because it
provides invaluable mentorship and research opportunities to high school and
college students, but it also expands our knowledge of phage evolution, which
can be applied to countless trajectories in medicine (phage therapy, biotechnology
and microbiome research to name a few).
On a weekly basis, I spend the
majority of my time reading and reviewing countless journal articles related to
phage ecology, phage evolution, evolutionary biology and phagefinder program
conclusions. I prioritize the rest of my time to writing summary reviews,
outlining my curriculum, brainstorming with my mentor and emailing my
collaborators. Although I spend most of my time keeping up to date on the
latest research, it always amazes me that I run across something new every day.
Just this week, I discovered how viral metagenomics was used to identify phage in
our gut microbiome, a new frontier in personalized medicine.
