During genetics senior Disha Qanungo’s undergraduate degree, she has been involved in a “Human Remains Recovery” course, traveled oversees to learn about microbial pathogens, volunteered at the Shifa Clinic and participated in an MUSC internship, just to name a few.
Disha says that her favorite part of the Genetics and Biochemistry Department is the advisors, whom she notes visibly show their best interests for their students. In her very limited free time, she enjoys cooking and ice skating.
Disha dreams of creating free clinics for women and children in developing countries. Upon graduating in May, Disha will be spending the summer preparing to take the MCAT on August 2nd and subsequently applying to medical school. During Disha’s gap year, she will apply to work at We are Sharing Hope SC as a clinical specialist in Organ Donation.
When senior biochemistry major Justyn Stevens was in high school, he started taking chemistry, biology and anatomy and immediately fell in love with life sciences. That passion coupled with his love of the campus and the knowledge that he wanted to go into the medical field made the biochemistry major at Clemson the perfect place for him.
“Clemson is also always investing in the sciences and helping students and professors with anything they need to help advance their research.”
For Justyn, the Genetics and Biochemistry Department has brought a sense of community with life-long friends and supportive professors. Justyn says his professors and advisors are always there to answer questions just talk about the future and how to prepare.
“If I had one piece of advice for any incoming or current G&B students, it would be to not be afraid to talk to people. Whether that’s professors or other students, you never know who you could meet. I have found some of my best friends in this major as well as some of my favorite professors.”
One of the professors that Justyn has found supportive is Dr. Lukasz Kozubowski. Justyn is currently working in Dr. Kozubowksi’s lab where he is studying Cryptococcus Neoforms. He works closely with Hannah Akahoho, a Ph.D. student in the lab, to better understand the CDC42 gene found in Cryptococcus.
“We are testing how different drugs interact with the organisms and seeing how they affect the budding/replication of Cryptococcus cells. This, in the grand scheme of things, will help our understanding of the CDC42 gene and how to prevent Cryptococcus from replicating and spreading.”
Justyn’s end goal is to go to medical school and become a cardiothoracic surgeon. After graduation, he plans to take a gap year, working as an EMT back in his hometown of Myrtle Beach, SC.
In his free time, Justyn enjoys anything sports related – golfing, throwing football/baseball or playing pickleball. He is studying for the MCAT to go to medical school after his gap year.
Senior biochemistry major Adam Gatch is many things: a student, a hiker, a researcher, a tutor, a Goldwater Scholar, an EMT, a volunteer, a writer, a backpacker – too many things to name.
Originally from Charleston, SC, Adam enjoys Clemson for its people and its proximity to great hiking spots and the mountains.
“It’s been nice to meet others with strong work ethic and passion for learning, and it has been motivating to be surrounded by other students with all kinds of exciting future plans.”
Being involved in many extracurricular activities, Adam’s main focus is his research work with Dr. Feng Ding, who runs the Clemson Multiscale Biophysics Lab in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. With Dr. Ding, he has worked on numerous independent projects investigating the structure and dynamics of various proteins implicated in neurodegenerative disease.
“The major theme of my personal research work is understanding the molecular basis of co-pathologies involving multiple disease-associated proteins. Essentially, many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are characterized by the abnormal accumulation of certain proteins, and the inclusions they form are considered disease hallmarks.”
In some cases, multiple “hallmark” proteins are found in the same pathological assembly or in closely associated assemblies of each protein. Adam’s work seeks to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that enable the proteins to interact and give rise to these co-pathologies, and additionally to understand how that interaction can affect clinical presentation and disease outcome.
Adam’s research experience doesn’t stop there; he is involved in the Clemson University Clinical Undergraduate Research Experiences in Surgery (CURES) and has shadowed neurologists at MUSC. Also, he is involved in the Drug Design, Development, and Delivery (4D) lab led by Dr. Jeoung Soo Lee in the Department of Bioengineering, which is focused on nanoparticle-based therapeutics for traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.
“In contrast to my computational biophysics research, the 4D lab utilizes in vivo and in vitro experiments, using rats to study the effectiveness of the treatments developed by the group. While Dr. Ding’s lab appealed to me because of my strong interest in neurodegeneration and molecular-level study of disease, Dr. Lee’s lab was perfect for exploring another clinical interest of mine, namely traumatic brain injury.”
“In my [EMT] work, I have cared for many patients with highly advanced forms of neurodegenerative disease, which reinforces my motivation to study these diseases in the lab. These experiences have been hugely impactful in affirming my commitment to my future career as a physician-scientist.”
After graduation Adam plans to take a couple gap years traveling around Europe before applying to a number of MD-Ph.D. programs in neuroscience. Afterward, he plans to complete medical residency in neurosurgery and lead a research-intensive career as an academic neurosurgeon at a medical university.
“I plan to continue working on highly interdisciplinary research throughout my Ph.D. training and later in my career, hope to one day lead a successful lab.”
