Science Research Program Graduate Researching Alzheimer's Disease

In late December, Shreya Chopra, a 2019 Carmel High School graduate and former Science Research Program student, visited with the current students of the program to discuss her experience as a college student that is part of a research team studying Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Chopra, who majored in biology and minored in business, is in her last semester of graduate school and plans to attend medical school in the future. As a college student with an interest in scientific research, she contacted several professors on campus who were leading research projects and found a place with an Alzheimer’s research team.

  

“I knew I wanted to go into cell culture,” said Chopra. “But it is hard to find a mentor that has a big enough lab to be able to do cell culture. Which is why when I saw this opportunity, I knew it was a no-brainer!”

 

Chopra learned how to grow, maintain and split cells as part of the research team – critical techniques not taught in the average biology courses. She was then able to plan her own experiments for the study – some that would run for six hours at a time – under the guidance of her professor.

 

“It is hard to find enough time in your day as a college student in general,” she said. “To find six hours was tough, but I liked it once I was in the lab. Doing the experiments, seeing my results, and contributing to the knowledge out there to help Alzheimer's is pretty cool.”

 

Chopra answered questions from the class and offered her insight to the current high school Science Research Program students:

 

“More than often, professors are willing to have you on their research team because they want students to be involved,” said Chopra. “Reaching out is definitely something that I recommend if you want to do research. Even if not, it is nice to talk to someone about the research that they are doing. They love to tell students about it.”

 

As a student in the Carmel High School Science Research Program, Chopra researched genetically modified crops and their effect on the soil nutrient content.