Loosineh Avakians

Chemistry Major
University of California, Berkeley
SRTP Project: Using nanoparticles to tag the extracellular protease MT-SP1 on cancer cells
SRTP Faculty Mentor: Charles Craik, Ph.D.

 

How did you hear about the SRTP?
I heard about SRTP from my friend who is a Miller Scholar.

What were your expectations going in to the program? Did the program meet these expectations?
I expected to meet new people related to my field of study and have more connections in different places. Yes, I made very good connections through this summer program.

What did you learn / what skills did you acquire? Did you learn anything unexpected?
I was mostly doing organic synthesis; although I had learned them in the labratory in class, I developed better skills and techniques. I also learned some very new and up to date infromation regarding the reseach I was doing, by attending different meetings and going to seminars.

What did you think of the learning environment?
UCSF is an awesome environment for learning, and it motivated me in every way to get to my goal.

What are your future plans? Did the SRTP have any influence on these plans?
My goal is to get a Ph.D. degree in chemistry. While at UCSF I was very motivated to pursue this goal.

Would you recommend SRTP to other students in your field of study?
Yes, I highly recommend this program to everybody.

Do you have any additional comments about the SRTP that you'd like to share with students interested in applying?
Just need to add that the coordinator of this program are really nice, also the SA's (Student Advisors) that are grad students from UCSF are very knowledgable and helpful through the 10 weeks, and for sure everything and everybody together makes this program a good one!