Hello everyone, my name is Satvik Garg and I am a senior majoring in Molecular Biology on the Cell/Developmental Biology Track. I am also minoring in Economics and Chemistry. In addition to this, I am pursuing the Certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine. Something unique about me is that I love to go hiking and explore national parks. I also love to spend time outside watching sunsets and like long night walks.

My current project is about the effect of the ACLY gene on inflammation. I will be utilizing techniques such as an ELISA analysis and the qPCR methods to measure the results of my experiment. I also will be making use of the BMDM method in this research, which is the bone marrow-derived macrophage method. Through this experiment, I hope to find out more about the pathway mechanism of inflammation when it comes to specific gene expression, which will include IL1, IL6, and TNF-α. My research mentors are my PI, Dr. Dutta, and my supervisor, Dr. Uddin. I previously worked under Dr. Florentin, which is where I got my interest in inflammation research. I believe this research is significant as inflammation is a rising and severe chronic issue for many citizens. Inflammation not only is a burden in itself, but it also acts in a compounding effect to worsen other diseases or their symptoms.

I aim to be a cardiologist in the internal medicine department and I believe CURF will help me to achieve this goal through the use of research techniques that will allow me to learn more about the pathology of inflammatory diseases. While research does not apply directly to becoming a physician, it is a great learning tool to understand the mechanics of the diseases I will be treating. As a future cardiologist, I aim to help my patients learn about their conditions and understand them. Through research, I will gain the skills to communicate about this topic of inflammation and how it is so relevant to the field of cardiology, especially when it comes to diseases such as endocarditis, pericarditis, and myocarditis. Inflammation of the cardiac muscles is also caused by factors that lead to myocardial infarctions. All of this shows that inflammation is a key contributor to cardiac disease, which is the reason why I am choosing to pursue this research as a future physician in this field. In all, I am excited to pursue inflammation research and am grateful to have received the CURF to support my journey!