Finding purpose through research
This summer, BSG-MSRP-Bio student Marina Milea investigated how lung cancers become resistant to targeted therapies, gaining hands-on research experience in the Jacks Lab at the Koch Institute.
Marina Milea, a biology major at City College of New York (CCNY), participates in the Bernard S. and Sophie G. Gould MIT Summer Research Program in Biology (BSG-MSRP-Bio) to gain hands-on research experience. She works in the Jacks Lab at MIT, where she manages multiple experiments simultaneously, such as staining mouse tissue sections and running gel electrophoresis.
Milea is specifically investigating how lung cancers driven by KRAS gene mutations become resistant to targeted therapies by transitioning into a different subtype. Her ultimate goal is to identify new therapeutic targets for these patients. CCNY has played a crucial role in Milea's research journey, offering diverse collaborations and preparing her for rigorous laboratory environments.
She gained valuable experience in CRISPR techniques, T-cell engineering, and machine-learning approaches during her summer research at Columbia University. At MIT, she found a supportive mentor in graduate student Carrie Rodriguez, who taught her not only the protocols but also the biological reasoning behind them. Milea's dedication and enthusiasm for the project allowed her to independently manage entire workflows by the second month of her research.
Faculty lectures, journal clubs, and discussions with researchers further broaden her scientific perspective. Milea aims to pursue a PhD in biomedical sciences and aims to combine research, teaching, and mentorship in her career. She hopes her story encourages other underrepresented students to pursue research opportunities despite initial doubts about their qualifications.
Written by urgent.news from MIT News Research's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
