Since middle school, I was drawn to the complexity of life and fascinated by the diverse experiments in the field of biology. At my time at Penn, I am very fortunate that I could research in viral oncology. It is like the best combination I could imagine: virus plus cancer! I work for Professor Jianxin You in the department of microbiology, investigating in Merkel Cell Polyomavirus. Merkel Cell Polyomavirus is the direct cause of Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a rare but aggressive skin cancer. My independent project in the You lab is very challenging but brings me fulfillment in time and fruitful results. Research is one of the main time commitment in my undergraduate career. I hope fellow undergraduate students can utilize resources in the university, including CURF, to get exposure and get engaged with researching.

Even though the pandemic interrupted my research plans, I quickly adapted and initiated other research projects remotely. Utilizing bioinformatics tools, I am currently investigating proteins in the viral innate immune pathway. With the surprisingly novel results, I hope to carry out some pilot experiments on the hypothesis I tested this summer as well as wrap-up my old project (when I’m able to return to the lab according to the university's policy).

• Research Assistant to Prof. Jianxin You, Department of Microbiology (Viral Oncology)
• Editorial Associate, American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD)
• University Scholar Fellowship - Summer 2020
• College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant- Fall 2018