Immunology by Asma

Immunology by Asma - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

I was first introduced to immunology through a drug-designing activity in my eighth grade science class. Beyond the interactions between medication and our immune system, I was curious about how our bodies fight disease by itself. That curiosity lingered through junior year, as I took both medical science and physiology classes.

In my physiology class, the immunology unit reawakened the spark I had experienced before the pandemic began and gave me the foundation to delve deeper, which I first did while volunteering at my local hospital. The laboratory wanted volunteer help, and I jumped at the opportunity: learning the tests that were run and how different levels of immune cells could be connected to certain symptoms. It was nerve-racking asking the technicians questions, but I gained knowledge that I couldn’t have gotten from just sorting and centrifuging samples.

Next, when one of my medical science assignments was to make a formal presentation on a rare disease, I chose a type of blood cancer that had a treatment that blew me away. While reading through PubMed articles, I discovered CAR-T and NK cells, which were genetically engineered to recognize and destroy cancer. I couldn’t stop devouring more and more articles about them, even with my limited knowledge and the difficulty of wading through scientific jargon. After the project ended, I found myself still wanting to research and explore more about this topic, but without a goal in mind.

When I found the International Youth Scientists journal, I made it my goal to guest-write an article for them on CAR-NK cells, which I achieved. I loved being able to share what made the therapy exciting to me. Coming into senior year, my AP Biology class is helping to fill in the background and give context to the specialized immunology knowledge I have. I’m continuing to write more immunology articles for the IYS journal and learning new things about cancer immunotherapy.

All these experiences have affirmed my desire to pursue molecular/human biology in college, where I’ll be taking every immunology class I can get my hands on.