The pandemic was a time of many firsts for me. It was my first year in college, my first online Zoom lecture, my first glimpse into the importance of virology, and the first time I had to struggle with opposing views on scientific morality and the role of research in educating the public. It was the first time I sought out research to protect myself and my family from misinformation and fear. By learning about viruses like COVID-19, or the roles of spike proteins in initiating viral fusion, I was able to educate myself, my friends, and my family, about the importance of vaccinations and what civic duty looks like in a scientific context. As more and more new scientific breakthroughs, like the development and approval of the mRNA vaccine, entered …show more content…
As a volunteer undergraduate researcher in the Zack lab, I apply the knowledge I have learned from courses and mentorship to optimize functional cures for HIV by exploring the complexities of HIV viral gene integration and reservoir formation. This allows me to explore research that better serves communities like the LGBTQ, who are disproportionately affected by the virus, and make a lasting impact in the field of virology. Since joining the lab, I have expanded multiple libraries of barcoded HIV-1 plasmids and AAV helper plasmids necessary for the creation of highly diverse swarms of barcoded HIV-1. Capable of infection and reservoir formation in vivo, these swarms are continuously utilized in mouse studies to better characterize the viral reservoir through examinations of virion and provirus population dynamics. In addition to duties like nucleic acid extraction and qPCR of HIV DNA and RNA, I collaborated closely with multiple technicians in optimizing and streamlining an assay protocol used to quantify HIV RNA and DNA populations within mouse