I am a Tufts University Cohort 1 Laidlaw Scholar and started the program in the summer of 2018. I have been working on my research project in Dr. Amy Yee’s lab since my freshman year in 2017, testing the effects of a novel combination treatment on Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) in a mouse model. My project specifically looks at the treatment’s effects on the tumor’s gene expression and immunogenicity, trying to determine the mechanism for how the treatment works. When I was six years old my mother was diagnosed with TNBC, and as I grew older I always dreamed about doing TNBC research. Even though my mom is now a fifteen year survivor, TNBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer and many others are not as fortunate as her. I applied to the Laidlaw program in order to really dive into the research at the Yee lab, further progressing their work with this promising new treatment. I have loved that the Laidlaw program has allowed me to take on more personal responsibility, and it has inspired me to complete a Senior Honors Thesis at the Yee lab as well as pursue global health research at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. My Laidlaw results will also be included in a research article that we hope will be published soon! I am hopeful that by completing my Senior Thesis work I will be able to help progress the project further and get one step closer to a clinical trial. Outside of the lab, I am a senior premed student from New Hampshire majoring in Biology as well as Child Study and Human Development. On campus, I am a Women’s Club Lacrosse Captain, Chief Administrative Officer for Kappa Alpha Theta, and a council member for the Club Sports Student Council. In the greater Tufts community I also volunteer for Junior Jumbos, Somerville Parks and Recreation Girls Youth Basketball Program, and Tufts Medical Center. I am passionate about medicine, oncology, and children, and dream to become a pediatric oncologist or pediatric emergency medicine physician.