Genetics Laboratory Assistant, Athens, Greece Jun – Aug of 2019 and 2021
- For two summers, I volunteered at Dr. Kyriakos Mitsakos-Barbayiannis’ genetic diagnosis laboratory at the REA Maternity Hospital in Athens, Greece, where I performed laboratory procedures required for genetic testing.
- In 2019, I was responsible for purifying and amplifying DNA from patients’ blood and urine samples.
- In 2021, I was also responsible for sequencing our patients’ DNA, and performing PCR-restriction enzyme assays to help the geneticist identify mutations in their genomes.
- Techniques used: DNA purification, RT-qPCR, Next-generation sequencing, PCR-restriction enzyme assays, and gel electrophoresis.
Research Assistant, University of Toronto (remote)
May 2021 – Aug 2021
- Conducted the screening procedure and qualitative data collection and analysis for Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish’s published review article at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
- The article discussed the genetic and socio-pathological causes and triggers of hatred and included how these have biomedical and psychological effects on different individuals.
- Skills used: scientific research writing, research screening, statistical analysis
Job Shadowing Mentee, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto
Jan 2021 – Feb 2021
- Observed the procedures performed in a medical laboratory by an LMP Ph.D. candidate, Dakota Gustafson, and attended meetings concerning scientific research.
- The research involved cardiotoxicity that occurs during cancer treatment with chemotherapeutics, and cerebrovascular dysfunction induced by type II diabetes.
Research Assistant, University of Toronto
Feb 2019 – Apr 2019
- I volunteered as Veronica Chong’s research assistant, as I aided in carrying out genetic experiments involving plant growth and resistance to pathogens for her thesis as a master’s student in the program of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
- Techniques used: pipetting, DNA isolation techniques, PCR, gel electrophoresis, light microscopy, and statistical analysis.
