INBRE scholars: Meet Riley Jones

Twenty-four undergraduate students are spending the summer conducting research.

They are called INBRE scholars and are part of the largest grant in UNMC history.

Today we meet Riley Jones of Elkhorn, a junior biology major at Doane College.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a 2015 INBRE scholar and biology major who still has no idea what I want to do with my life! But research may be an option after this experience. I love to play soccer and spend time with friends and family. I’ve played soccer my whole life and continue to do so with teammates at Doane!

Has science always been a part of your life?
My mom is a veterinarian, and my dad has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, so I definitely acquired a liking for math and science. They may be the most difficult courses, but I’ve always challenged myself through high school and my career at Doane by loading up my schedule with math and science, because I enjoy both disciplines. I originally came to Doane undecided taking a lot of biology, chemistry, and math, but declared a biology major with a computational science minor during my sophomore year. It’s very important to me, because all though I still don’t have a defined career path ahead of me, I know it will involve science whether it is in industry, research, or something of the sort.

Why did you choose to participate in the INBRE program? What do you hope to gain from it?
I came across the INBRE program when I was already planning on doing research over the summer at Doane. I heard about it in my molecular biology class, looked into it, and saw the fantastic benefits and advantages it provided all the way through graduate school. Before this summer, I was yet to participate in research or lab work outside of regular classwork. As I said, I’m still very unsure of what to do so I decided to pursue research with INBRE to explore some career options and see if research is right for me. Not only have I been exposed to what it’s like to work in a research lab, but I’ve also learned a lot from our weekly seminars at Ph.D.-granting institutions or large companies focused on biomedical R&D. I’ve been looking for that cliche “spark” of interest, and I just may have found it.