As I spearheaded my project through the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship, I have not only developed a new set of skills, but also learned to acknowledge and reconcile with my own limitations. Moving from broad topics in my previous research like atherosclerosis and thyroid carcinoma to a focused subject like apolipoproteinC-III (apoC-III), my approach to understanding and synthesizing information was challenged; I needed to understand more specific information like the unique functions of different lipoproteins. Since my focus with apoC-III was understanding its role in the gut, I had to isolate the intestines from mice several times. When I first started out, I also never isolated the intestines before; the first few times, I tore the tissue when scraping out the mucosa and ripped the duodenum from the stomach before removing it from the mouse. My pride and ownership of the project initially prevented me from asking for help. I wanted to feel confident in my work and replicate the satisfaction I felt when I first joined the Kohan Lab, but I could not do so without the team of researchers in my lab. These struggles showed me the power of reaching out and relying on the support of my mentors. I have come to recognize research as a collaborative process, constantly seeking out feedback with the goal of continuous growth.

Just because the fellowship is over does not mean that I will stop my research! Over the past semester, I have conducted various thin-layer chromotographies to understand the types of lipids in my tissues of interest. Interestingly, I found that mice without apoC-III have higher lipid levels in all areas—whether that be the lymph or the lumen and mucosa of the small intestine. It is unclear how or why there are more lipids in all areas of the intestine, but that is an area of research I hope to pursue as I continue this work. Moving forward, I plan to conduct tests to determine how many chylomicrons—vessels containing triglycerides and cholesterol—are being secreted from cells in the intestines. I’ve included a schematic of chylomicron secretion in the intestines with a hyperlink to the article for those interested. Although it looks overwhelming at first, it’s the area of research I’ve been interested in and working on for the past few years! I also hope to quantify the expression of genes involved in chylomicron secretion to see if there are differences between mice without apoC-III and wild-type mice. With these plans set for the future, I am excited to embark on the next steps of my research journey. I look forward to understanding and discovering as much as I can about apoC-III’s role in lipid transport and secretion before my upcoming graduation next semester!