Wendy Deras is a junior studying Biology with minors in Chemistry and Social Science & Medicine. Wendy will be applying to MD and PhD programs after graduation to pursue her passion for both science and medicine. She was previously a TA for Lecturer Michael Manzella’s genome engineering course, did research through ASURE, is an intern at TANDEM, and last summer went to Costa Rica to do fieldwork. She enjoys her job as a field tech for the Associate Professor Kim Rosvall’s lab and is excited to see where the future takes her.

Fernando is a member of Professor Jenn Lau’s lab where he has been helping organize and classify the biomass samples harvested from the greenhouses. He has also served as a UTA for Lecturer Megan Murphy’s BIOL-X 325 ASURE immune response and behavior class for a year and a half. Fernando volunteers at Middleway House in the youth department and at Generosity Feeds. He plans to pursue a PhD in the microbiology field.

Elena is a member of Professor Brian Calvi’s lab where she is modeling cancer in fruit flies using a gene-editing system called CRISPR-Cas9. Outside of school, she is part of Hoosier Health Advocates, Royal Encounters, Gift of Life, and the medical fraternity Phi Delta Epsilon. Elena plans to continue studying biology at Sorbonne University in Paris. After, she aspires to attend medical school to become an oncologist.

Danielle was a member of the Assistant Professor Cristina Landeta’s lab for two semesters through the ASURE program, where she helped research antibiotic resistance in E. coli by using the DSB system. She hopes to continue learning about genes and developing her research skills while planning for a career in biotechnology or forensics.