Hello everyone! I’m Antolette Kasler. I’m a senior at California State University San Marcos majoring in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Cellular and Molecular Biology. I’m very grateful to be part of the NSF funded REU Program at CSUSM for 2021. I’m part of the Jameson Lab where we determine the role of immune cells in wound repair in type 2 diabetes and the autoimmune disease Alopecia areata. I’m in the Alopecia areata team where we look at genes that could be a possible therapeutic target for patients with Alopecia areata.
I joined Dr. Jameson’s lab spring of last year. Since then, I’ve learned how to analyze data samples of bulk RNA sequences using Galaxy, analyze data using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and looking at RNA sequences in the single-cell level using R programming. Due to the pandemic, most of the research work I did for Jameson Lab was virtual. I was very excited to finally be back in lab to learn hands-on work for our research this summer! Though it has only been 5 weeks, I have learned so much already. I have been trained to stain epidermal skin and look and view my prepared samples under the immunofluorescence microscope. I’ve started my very first cell line (Yay!), been trained to use Cytek’s Flow Cytometer, and many more skills that I can add to my toolbox that I will be able to use in the future. In addition, I had the honor along with a fellow summer scholar, Albert, to escort President Neufeldt in Science Hall 1 to show her the different research labs in our building. I was very impressed with how much she genuinely cares about everyone’s research. I also was able to talk with her about the importance of research lab opportunities and experiences for students. I emphasized not only the great work that could potentially impact other people’s lives but also the amount of knowledge that I will bring with me long after I move on with my educational goals. I’m very lucky to be a part of the Jameson Lab and I could not ask for a better PI and lab mates. Dr. Jameson truly cares about each of us and always pushes us to be better researchers. She helps us think in a way where we fully understand our research and the purpose of everything that we do. I’m also very fond of all my lab mates. Since most of us were out of the lab due to the pandemic, we have been there for each other to guide and help each other to train and navigate around the lab. We are a team and we are a family in the Jameson Lab. Lastly, I’m very glad to have met everyone in the 2021 REU cohort this year. It’s very nice to meet brilliant researchers from different universities and get to know each of their reasons behind their passion in research. We are halfway through our summer research program, but we still have a lot of science learn and a lot of fun to experience!
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Watch this space for weekly updates!Every week, one of our CSUSM NSF REU students will post their blurb, summarizing their week, and chronicling our program. AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2023
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