PULLMAN, Wash. – When Adan Medina discovered he’d been selected for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Summer Research Program (MSRP), he was ecstatic.
“I was in the lab when the program director called to say I was accepted. Let’s just say you could hear my excitement throughout the halls,” said Medina, a chemical engineering student in his final year.
Working in the Washington State University labs of Su Ha and John Alderete helped Medina gain the experience he needed to be accepted by MSRP.
Last summer, Medina and 38 other students from various STEM majors around the country took part in this highly competitive undergraduate opportunity. Its goal is to prepare participants for graduate school through a focus on research. Medina said the three main pillars of the program were preparing for graduate school applications, networking and conducting research with MIT professors.
The students worked in research laboratories related to their fields and received a weekly stipend. While his area of interest is biofuels, Medina’s passion for the research process gave him the desire to work in different fields. He worked in the Wittrup Lab that specializes in protein engineering, specifically focusing on anti-cancer drugs.
In particular, Medina focused on a different method of creating antibody-like reagents, or substances that help to bring about chemical reactions. The goal is to equip laboratories with efficient, low-cost methods to make antibodies. At the end of the nine-week program, students presented posters about their research.
“I had to start my experiments over three or four times, which was stressful since I wanted to have data to show at the poster session,” Medina said. “Not a second was ever lost, though, because each time I started over I knew a little bit more about the experiment.”
“Adan is one of the most excitable, enthusiastic, dedicated undergraduates that my lab has had the pleasure to work with,” said Alderete.
As a result of MSRP, Medina is even more confident in his desire to pursue research through graduate school. He is applying to chemical engineering programs mostly on the West Coast that have strong bio-based alternative energy programs.
“This summer was my best experience by far. I am now confident in my ability to do research and in the huge difference that research can make,” Medina said.