Carolina Mendoza
Hometown: Plano, TX
Age: 21
Major: Biochemistry
Minor: Spanish
Plans post-Southwestern:
I’ve been accepted into medical school in Texas.
When do you feel most like a scientist?
I feel most like a scientist when I’m conducting research in the lab with my research advisor, and when I get to have meaningful scientific conversations with peers and professors.
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Kerry Bruns
Current research question: Study of the mTOR cell signaling pathway and its substrates in Kristen virus-transformed murine embryonic fibroblast.
Research and deeper learning: I’ve learned about how the body works at the cellular level at a much greater depth through conducting research than if I had just learned the material in class. In addition, I’ve become more confident in being able to conduct the research by myself and actually teach other students about the different methods we use. I’ve really learned a lot from mistakes that I’ve made and how to think critically if results do not come out like I expected. I‘ve gained a lot more self-confidence and skills that I would not have acquired any other way.
Jace Venters
Hometown: Mont Belvieu, Texas
Age: 21
Major: Biochemistry
What are your plans post-Southwestern?
I plan to work for a year and then attend graduate school.
When do you feel most like a scientist?
I feel the most like a scientist when I’m working in the lab or reading papers.
For my research…
…I have been conducting collaborative research with Dr. Maha Zewail-Foote since the summer of 2011. We have worked on a few projects together, and our current project aims to understand the role of methamphetamine in oxidative DNA damage in the rat brain. This interdisciplinary project has been a really great learning experience and has allowed me to also work with Dr. Fay Guarraci in the Psychology department. The most rewarding aspect of research is being able to observe a scientific process that no one else has seen before and contributing this knowledge to an ever-changing scientific community.