Melbourne's Story

"I worked on examining the proteins that form around nanoparticles when they enter the body for drug delivery. Specifically, I looked at how different compositions of the nanoparticles and different conditions (eg time in the body, whether the biological fluids are flowing or not) impact the proteins formed. This is part of my supervisor's PhD thesis. Classes at MIT helped me understand the experimental techniques we used. For example, my physics classes helped me understand some of the analysis instruments while my biochemistry class directly discussed one of the lab techniques used. My prior UROP experience also helped me work in the lab environment. I expanded my perspective on what nanotechnology can encompass, beyond the UROP that I had done last summer. I also gained exposure in working on a biomedical application, which is different from the neurogenetics UROP I did that was less application focused."