Q&A with Andrea M 🧫

My name is Andrea Maxwell (She/Her), and I’m a second year Health Sciences student at McMaster University. I’ve always loved both the social and biological sciences, so the Health Sciences program was a perfect fit for me as it intertwines the two through its interdisciplinary approach to the study of health, and emphasis on Inquiry-based learning. In the future, I hope to pursue more research, and become a physician. Outside of school, I enjoy baking, reading, and going for walks. 

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to work on antimicrobial research at the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) through the Summer Scholars Program, a research program running from mid-May to early August, chaired by Dr. Caitlin Mullarkey. The program is open to Ontario students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+, and are enrolled in an undergraduate STEM degree/diploma program. The program was fully funded: we were provided a $7,000 stipend, as well as a $900 meal plan and free housing in residence on campus.

The first two weeks of the program, we participated in a laboratory technique ‘boot-camp’, an intensive training session where we learned a range of skills, such as using a multichannel pipette, tissue culture, dose response assays, and designing primers for polymerase chain reactions.

The next ten weeks were spent in our respective labs; I was a summer research student in the lab of Dr. Eric Brown, which focuses on finding novel strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance. I worked under Dr. Maya Farha, determining the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate as an antibacterial adjuvant. I used a variety of methods to determine the synergy between compounds (both existing drugs and novel compounds) and sodium bicarbonate against various bacterial strains. The rest of the scholars had varied projects, and worked in different labs within the IIDR, McMaster’s Biochemistry and Biomedical Science Department, and Canada’s Global Nexus for Pandemics and Biological Threats. Other projects included studying host targeted antiviral drugs, and bacteriophage isolation. Each week, we also met with a guest speaker to discuss careers in biomedical sciences, as well as meet with graduate student-mentors. At the end of the program, we showcased our work at a symposium attended by our lab members and mentors.

I found out about this opportunity through a friend, who sent me the link and urged me to apply. Applications opened on January 3rd, and closed on February 14th, consisting of both a written application and a letter of support. This opportunity in particular piqued my interest since, contrary to many similar programs, the Summer Scholars Program does not require prior research experience, meaning that students such as myself with no prior extracurricular lab experience would be able to apply as well. 

One highlight from the experience included having the opportunity to meet people in a variety of fields, from academia to industry, and even graduate students.  Hearing about the work they do, and the pathways they took to get there has widened my personal scope of future careers, and introduced me to the work involved in careers such as Research Associate, Principal Investigator, Bioinformatician, and more. Additionally, being grouped with like-minded people from a variety of backgrounds allowed us to learn from each other; living in next door apartments for three months is a good way to form friendships! Finally, the opportunity to participate in research that contributes to public health in tangible ways (some of the compounds worked on in the lab are currently in clinical trials!) was very impactful.

Having the opportunity to plan and execute a project, and present my findings has allowed me to refine my project planning and public speaking skills, which has led me to pursue various other projects in the field of STEM outreach at McMaster. Additionally, the wide range of skills I learned this summer, such as ELISA, drug checkerboards, and data extraction/analysis will allow me to participate in further lab research.

Information about the program can be found here, or in this post. Also, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any further questions.

If you are a Black, Indigenous, or LGBT+ undergraduate student interested in the opportunity to pursue research in a growth-centered, encouraging environment, I would highly encourage you to apply to the Summer 2023 cohort of the program.