On May 28, the Nebraska Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program welcomed 29 undergraduate students from across Nebraska as they embark on their summer research experience at Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and UNMC.
Below Gabriella Moore, a molecular and biomedical biology major at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, talks about her INBRE experience.
Tell me about yourself. Who are your heroes?
I am a rising junior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I love to create art in forms of makeup artistry and painting. I have a black cat. I love Halloween and I am a huge advocate for lupus awareness and women’s rights. This will be my fourth year in a program at UNMC. I am a 2017 High School Alliance student and I’ve been working as a research technician and lab assistant for the past two years. My heroes aren’t specific, but rather individuals and groups that are consistently trying to learn and better themselves or the people and places around them. I see a hero in teachers who go the extra mile for a student just as I see a hero in the girl walking down the beach picking up trash. We can all learn from each other, and it’s important to recognize that.
What are your career goals?
My career goals are essentially to do what I love. As a patient myself, it is extremely important for me to push myself to be the best physician possible. I am strongly considering an M.D./Ph.D. route in order to satisfy my love for science along with my love for people. Having an appreciation and understanding of research is so important to me. When providers have a strong background in treatment and pathological mechanisms, this leads to a better understanding of how to treat patients in clinic.
How did you become interested in science?
I first became interested in science my sophomore year of high school. I was never particularly great at it until I had a teacher who pushed us to really learn the material.
What do you hope the INBRE program will do for you?
I hope to learn new research methods, explore different areas of science, and find a path that would best fit my future goals! I’ve already had such a great experience and we’ve just started. I really know my passion is clinical work, but I have a massive soft spot for understanding why diseases take certain paths. I hope INBRE will prepare me for my graduate studies and help me develop new ways to think outside of the box.
How do you see science evolving over the next 20 years?
I see science getting very personalized. We have custom shampoos, razors, meal plans, everything we can imagine, except health care. With consistent development of the human genome and personalized medicine, I really do believe physicians, researchers, and health care professionals will have many more opportunities to really take medicine to the next level.
Congratulations Gabby! Keep up the great work.