Hear it From the Students: CBR-SBME Summer Studentship Program 2020

August 21, 2020

For years, the Centre for Blood Research-School of Biomedical Engineering (CBR-SBME) Summer Studentship Program has provided students with an opportunity to get hands-on research experience during the summer months, and to present their research at the CBR Research Day. With research skills workshops, career development events, and complementary socials, the program also enhances the summer students’ learning across various areas.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the CBR successfully transitioned online and continued to provide undergraduate students with research experience and professional development opportunities in summer 2020. Here’s what some of the summer students had to say about the program.

Mahta Amanian, 2020 CBR-SBME Summer Research Student
Project: Genome-Wide pathogenicity hunt in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Supervisors: Christine Yang, Dr. Amy Lee, and Dr. Bob Hancock

Mahta Amanian presenting during Virtual Research Day 2020

The CBR-SBME Summer Studentship Program was an amazing experience and I am so grateful for being awarded this opportunity. The ability to work on a research project and present to the scientific community despite the unique nature of this summer was very valuable.

For my research project, I worked on a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) with guidance from my remarkable supervisors, Christine Yang, Dr. Amy Lee, and Dr. Bob Hancock. The objective of my project was to perform a comprehensive study on Pseudomonas aeruginosa by first validating a GWAS software, De Bruijn Graph GWAS (DBGWAS), using ciprofloxacin resistance genes as a control so that we could then use the tool to identify novel mutations that contribute to pathogenicity. Although bioinformatics was fairly new to me, I had a lot of support from my supervisors and I have gained more confidence in computing.

Throughout the program, I have met many great individuals who are just as passionate about research as I am. Through workshops and one-on-one support sessions, I have learned a number of skills that I know have made me a better science communicator and researcher. Thank you so much for making the CBR-SBME Summer Studentship Program a possibility!

 

Cecilia H. Kim, 2020 CBR-SBME Summer Research Student
Project: Iron-overload induced oxidative stress in myelodysplastic syndromes and its cellular sequelae
Supervisor: Dr. Heather A. Leitch

Cecilia H. Kim

“This summer, through the CBR-SBME Summer Studentship program, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Heather Leitch to investigate the cellular impacts of iron overload (IOL) due to blood transfusions in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). My project consisted of conducting a literature review of clinical and pre-clinical data and preparing figures to help communicate the relevance of IOL to MDS pathophysiology. I also took the lead in writing certain sections of the paper that we submitted to the Critical Reviews in Oncology and Hematology journal at the end of my project, which was an incredible learning experience!

The Summer Studentship Program was a wonderful opportunity where I was able to learn new skills through virtual workshops, connect with other research students, and learn from an amazing mentor. My experience with the program, combined with Dr. Leitch’s patient guidance and inspiring passion for her patients as well as her research, consolidated my desire to pursue clinical and medical research as a career.

I am so grateful to Dr. Leitch and the CBR and SBME for allowing me to have such a meaningful experience!”

Read Cecilia’s blog about her CBR-SBME summer studentship experience and conducting remote research during the pandemic.

 

Polina Petlitsyna, 2020 CBR-SBME Summer Research Student
Project: Communicating science to senior learners
Supervisor: Dr. Jenna Usprech

Polina Petlitsyna

“I am beyond grateful to have been a part of this year’s cohort for the CBR-SBME Summer Studentship program. My project revolved around developing and delivering virtual cell biology lessons to a cohort of senior learners, with the broader aim of improving their scientific trust in light of COVID-19.

This summer could not be complete without Dr. Jenna Usprech’s brilliant guidance – she made my first research project a truly memorable experience. All in all, the CBR-SBME Summer Studentship Program was a hub of unforgettable opportunities; I especially enjoyed the professional development workshops and the virtual Seminar Series on current CBR research. Despite the unprecedented nature of 2020, this program stayed just as organized and aware of its students and supervisors’ needs, which I appreciated. Seeing such a small community come together (virtually) and share their progress during Research Day was very inspiring!

I would like to extend more thanks to the staff over at CBR and SBME – this program could not have excelled without your hard work and support! I am looking forward to working with more amazing members of this research community in the near future.”

 

Rafid Haq, 2020 CBR-SBME Summer Research Student
Project: Predictors of Methotrexate Intolerance in Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Supervisor: Drs. Kelly Brown & Martina Sundqvist

Rafid Haq presenting for Virtual Research Day 2020

“The CBR-SBME Summer Studentship Program was a wonderful experience and I am extremely grateful to have been a part of the 2020 cohort. I had been involved in research before, but only in a limited capacity that was able to be expanded thanks to this program. The objective of my project was to analyze clinical and genetic parameters of patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), in order to determine predictors of intolerance to the first line treatment of the disease, methotrexate.

I got to work closely with Dr. Martina Sundqvist of the Brown Lab at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, who was an excellent mentor and guide in my first paid research experience. The program workshops, despite the online format, truly exhibited a care for the professional development of us summer students. CBR Research Day was an especially enjoyable time, allowing me to give a research presentation for the first time, as well as see all the interesting projects the other students had worked on this summer!

Thank you so much to the organizers at CBR and SBME for their work in making this program so fulfilling!”

 

Ella Chan, 2020 CBR-SBME Summer Research Student
Project: Developing Tools to Improve Parent Health Literacy in Nephrotic Syndrome
Supervisor: Dr. Jenna Usprech

Ella Chan’s presentation during Virtual Research Day 2020

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to have worked with the Centre for Blood Research and School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) at UBC this summer, and to have been awarded a Summer Studentship. This summer, I worked on a project that aimed to increase health literacy and public trust in science with Dr. Jenna Usprech. For my specific project, I decided to focus on exploring ways to improve health literacy in families with children being treated for nephrotic syndrome. Through the development of Zoom-based lessons and interactions with patients and families, I was able to explore my lesson plans as avenues for improving parent health literacy in the context of the disease.

Overall, the CBR-SBME Summer Studentship was an incredible opportunity. I loved the integration of professional development (Zoom-presentation lessons and skills for online public speaking) and research talks. I also appreciated the community fostered by the program despite the online limitations. Through meet-and-greets, activities and the final presentation day, I felt connected to my colleagues in the program despite never having met them in person!

Thank you again, to the CBR and SBME Summer Studentship program!”

Ella’s Summer Studentship research project continued after she completed the program. She developed and published a document toolkit on her project, which focused on improving parent health literacy in nephrotic syndrome! See her project here.