Keira McNeill ’27: The Resnek Family Center for PSC Research

Dr. Korzenik and his team study the intersection of primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease of stricturing and ballooning of the bile ducts in the liver, and inflammatory bowel disease, which is divided into the two subcategories of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Working in his lab, I mainly focused on biobanking and performing wet-lab research.

On a typical day, I would aliquot samples, assist in organizing stool samples, and observe team meetings. I learned many skills including BLAST searching, recording sample metadata, pipetting viscous substances, planning assay plates, calculating sample dilutions, reading plate results, preparing mitra devices, retrieving mail from large scale mail rooms, coordinating with vendors, and caring for freezers. In the almost-daily team meetings, I also learned about coordinating clinical trials and performing biomarker research. 

Additionally, I observed eight colonoscopes—more than a healthy person has in a lifetime! At first I was really nervous, but everyone in the operating room was so welcoming. Then at the end of my internship, the Resnek Family Center hosted the International PSC Study Group Biennial Conference, which I helped to host by writing the run of show and performing day-of registration, checking in, and coordinating poster presentations. I am so grateful for this opportunity and have learned so much!