Student Success Stories

Story By Anthony Neil Tan, 2018 CIRM SPARK Student. Attended undergraduate at UC Berkeley, Majoring in Bioengineering It’s More than Just Stem Cells! In freshman year of high school, I was flipping through my favorite biology textbook when a page titled “Stem Cells” caught my eye. Captivated by the potential of stem cells to revolutionize medicine, I read and read. All the while, my simple fascination turned into a research aspiration. By summer before senior year I found myself in CIRM SPARK, an 8-week stem cell research program run by Pathways to Stem Cell Science (Pathways) and Caltech. After one week of learning stem cell culture techniques at Pathways, I was assigned to the Khoshnan Lab at Caltech to conduct my research project which investigated the presence of amyloid-producing bacteria in soil and the effect of bacterial amyloid proteins on induced human pluripotent stem cells. Every day at the lab was a journey to the microscopic world. I would stay in the microscope room for hours, mesmerized by the geometric arrangement of human stem cells and the long filamentous strands of bacteria. Eight weeks felt like eight exhilarating days and by the end of the program I had an amazing story to tell. I shared my experience with middle school students, encouraging them to seek research opportunities themselves. I also shared my story with scholarship committees and admission officers, winning scholarships and gaining early acceptance into UC Berkeley’s bioengineering program. Most of all, CIRM SPARK empowered me to achieve more. In senior year of high school, I excelled in extracurriculars and academics. I founded a non-profit project to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities and became the top winner of the 2019 HonorsGradU “Design A Better Future national challenge“. At the same time, I graduated as Valedictorian of Rowland High School Class of 2019. Now I am a second-year Bioengineering undergraduate at UC Berkeley and I am pursuing a career in the alternative protein industry where I can apply my stem cell culture skills towards creating more sustainable food systems. Starting February, I will be a Bioengineering Intern at New Age Meats, a cellular agriculture startup committed to producing intensely flavorful meat that’s better for people, animals, and the planet. Looking back, I feel extremely fortunate because all of this could not have been possible without the extra mile Pathways staff take. Pathways staff fostered a nurturing learning environment helping me to develop a resilience to failure. They welcomed every question and guided my past mistakes. Above all, Pathways training had equipped me with the mentality that every failure was an opportunity to troubleshoot. When my experiment at Caltech failed and failed while other CIRM SPARK fellows wrapped up theirs, I kept moving forward. Program mentors, Caltech graduate students, and former fellows extended their support. In the end, I not only completed my research but also became comfortable with failure as an opportunity to learn. Pathways’ forums introduced me to diverse biotech careers. I had the opportunity to talk to several guest speakers: a biotech entrepreneur, a patient advocate, a professor, a bioinformatician, an intellectual property manager, and a rare diseases researcher. Pathways founder Dr. Victoria Fox took these forums one notch further: she gave detailed presentations on tuition, length of study, and difficulty level associated with various biotech careers, helping us avoid uninformed (and costly) decision making. Collectively, these forums led me to carefully examine my educational options before choosing my college major and my intended career path.

My Story, By Sophie Karolczak, 2015 Regenerative Medicine and Disease Modeling Program alumna, 2017 Teaching Research Intern (by invitation). Attended undergraduate at Wesleyan College. Each year, college students from across the country compete for internships with leading biotech research firms. Unlike university lab placements, these coveted private sector positions are extremely rare and virtually impossible to secure – even for the most accomplished science students. Beating the odds, Pathways alumna Sophie Karolczak was awarded a summer internship with Boston-based firm, CRISPR Therapeutics. This unique entrepreneurial start-up uses cutting-edge CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology to develop transformative medicines for serious genetic diseases. Sophie’s inaugural internship with CRISPR Therapeutics was so successful, she was asked to return for a second summer in 2019.  Sophie credits the skills and experiences she gained at Pathways to Stem Cell Science (Pathways) as being “essential” to finding and retaining such an “amazing” internship opportunity: “Interning at CRISPR Therapeutics was an amazing opportunity where I gained research experience while working on projects with the potential to change people’s lives. I would not have had the opportunity or drive to pursue stem cell science without my experiences at Pathway’s. As a high schooler, the Regenerative Medicine and Disease Modeling Program allowed me to jump headfirst into stem cell biology where I learned stem cell science was something I wanted to pursue. Since then I have focused my academic and extracurricular learning towards this goal, making me a competitive applicant for future internship opportunities. Returning to Pathway’s as a teaching assistant was a unique experience that strengthened my skills and knowledge because it required me to understand science well enough to explain things to other students. I am excited for this summer and the future opportunities it will lead to” – Sophie Karolczak – 2015 and 2017 Alumna Sophie’s position with CRISPR Therapeutics was not the only internship she secured since graduating from the 2015 Regenerative Medicine and Disease Modeling Program.  In 2017 Sophie interned for eight-weeks during the summer as a teaching assistant with Pathways, helping to inspire future generations of scientists. Prior to this position, she attended Pathway’s Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Techniques Course, gaining advanced industry-level training in human stem cell techniques. Outside of summer, Sophie also researched yeast genetics in the laboratory of Dr. Amy MacQueen at Wesleyan University, where she completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.  Since graduating from college, Sophie is now seeking employment in the biotech sector, while she applies to PhD research programs. The value of internships in providing real-world skills and experience cannot be overstated.  At Pathways to Stem Cell Science we actively encourage every student to pursue ongoing real-world training throughout their post-secondary education.  

My Story, By Aditya Daita, 2017 Stem Cell Research Internship Student. Attended undergraduate at UC Berkeley. Throughout high school, I always loved science and reading about scientific discoveries. Interested to learn first-hand how discoveries are made, I applied to the Stem Cell Research Internship Program at Pathways to Stem Cell Science (Pathways) and was accepted into their 2017 program. After a week of laboratory training, I interned in the research laboratories at HMRI, assisting their scientists with creating a safe assay to measure brain degeneration in the urine of Alzheimer’s patients. I also worked for several weeks in Pathways’ biotech research facility, alongside Pathways founder, Dr. Victoria Fox. At Pathways my project focused on developing engineered stem cells for use in biomedical research and disease modeling studies, tying in perfectly with my interest in neurodegenerative diseases. These experiences showed me how to work independently, think analytically, and apply the scientific method to investigate relevant questions. Through being in a professional lab with experienced science mentors I gained a new outlook on life, focused career goals and the motivation to achieve them. Real-world science training allows people who seek a future in any science field to get professional hands-on experience and understand the techniques, methods, and attitudes in that field. My experience at Pathways, in the Stem Cell Research Internship program has inspired me to contribute towards the alleviation of neurological diseases, which I have since achieved in three critical ways: Fundraising: Having gained a real-world understanding of the importance of Alzheimer’s disease research, I participated in fundraising activities, releasing a video of my own Sitar (Indian musical) compositions which raised $2,190. I also released and sold many copies of my first comic book for which I’m the author and illustrator. In both cases, 100% of the proceeds were donated to the Alzheimer’s Association to support research, awareness and education. Volunteering: Motivated to do more, I volunteered at the Pleasanton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, aiding patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I also volunteered at Stanford Health Care Hospital’s clinical lab, helping doctors collect and process patient samples. These experiences enabled me to build upon the practical skills I gained during the Stem Cell Research Internship Program. College education: I applied to and was accepted into every University of California campus in addition to several private institutions. Several of these offers included scholarships and/or research grant awards. I have chosen to pursue a major in Neurobiology at UC Berkeley and, will begin my freshman year in the fall. For those who love science, seek hands-on experience or insights into the many possibilities that science holds, I would strongly recommend learning more through volunteering, outreach and real-world training programs like those at Pathways to Stem Cell Science.