Photo by Kayla McKay. Yale SURF/AMGEN Scholars Closing Symposium (2023)
Project: Detection of DNA Strand Breaks in Ichthyosis with Confetti, Choate Lab, Dermatology/Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine
But many programs have recognized the value of building a passion in a subject first to then fuel an obligation. ACCESS Scholars is one of them, providing students like Nia Brooks an initial spark to fuel a successful journey into their future careers.
Peaks and precipices
Brooks traveled all the way from northern Virginia to pursue studies in biology and pre-medicine. It was her first experience in a college setting several thousand miles away from home, and coming off the online classes of the Covid pandemic. Suffice to say, the culture shock was immense, but thanks to a welcoming community she was able to quickly adapt and thrive. She joined the Honors College, took on a role as a TA, and through the ACCESS program dove straight into research.
“I didn’t know I’d want this when I first started,” Brooks explains. “I had always looked at research as something too hard, too complicated. I’d be stuck doing a science project for months and get burnt out! But since I started so early I had time to realize that it was way more dynamic and fun! I loved it!”
With Principal Investigator Tracey Lamb and graduate student Marshall Roedel, Brooks has been working to study cerebral malaria, a subset or complication of malaria that can easily lead to childhood fatalities. Instead of the typical “months-long science project” her research rapidly evolved from studying the prominent cellular interactions in response to gene editing, to investigating cellular signaling pathways and then working with mice models to understand the mechanisms of this condition.
Any initial hesitancy in Brooks was given the perfect environment to grow into healthy motivation, the intimidating precipice of earning an MD/PhD appearing more scalable to her with each passing day. And it’s not because that career peak is any less difficult to climb. If anything, the deeper exposure showcases how steep it really is. But by showing students like Nia Brooks the tools they’ll need and giving them space to learn if they enjoy using them, programs like ACCESS create a spark that can help supersede any obligation.
Because at the end of the day, an obligation is something we stop pursuing once it is met. A passion is something we pursue for the rest of our lives.