Hi everyone! My name is Stacia Subick, and I am a senior chemical engineering student at Pitt! I had the honor of participating in the Brackenridge fellowship program this summer, conducting independent research in Dr. Steven Little’s lab. My project focused on investigating suppression of the immune response in mice through the use of polymer microparticles as a drug delivery method. I encapsulated several different types of drugs that act to block pro-inflammatory signals or amplify anti-inflammatory signals within microscopic spheres of polymer. When injected into the body, these spheres break down over time to release the drug in a sustained dose. My work this summer involved fabricating and characterizing microparticles, as well as testing them in a murine hypersensitivity model to see if they reduced the immune response.

Through this project, I was able to deepen my understanding of my research, and I appreciated the opportunity to work on a project from ideation to the final testing phase. I think I have a better appreciation of how research can change over time, and sometimes plans must change to be successful. I also enjoyed learning more about other types of research through this program and have a broadened perspective on what “research” really means. It was interesting to talk to a lot of students outside the engineering school and consider what goes into research in other fields. I don’t often have classes with people outside of engineering, and I think it’s important to talk to others about their projects, methods, and findings.

I found the most valuable part of this experience to be the freedom to work on a project independently. I’ve been doing undergraduate research for almost three years now and feel like I was able to really apply everything I have learned up to this point. I was also able to learn a lot of new techniques and skills including working with animals and tissue analysis methods. These are things that I had learned about in the classroom and from reading other research studies, but never had the opportunity to try hands-on until now. I think this gives me a better understanding of class material I had previously learned and will help me in the future.

Now that the fellowship program is coming to an end, I plan to focus on my last semester and graduate in December 2024. I am currently hoping to go into a research-oriented career in industry. I think both the hands-on experience and the analytical techniques I learned through this program will help me stand out as I start applying to jobs and begin my career.