ASP: Can you tell me a little bit about your research as an Amgen Scholar?
Loving: During my time as an Amgen Scholar at the UC Berkeley, I have been working with Priya Moorjani’s lab, which focuses on evolutionary biology and population genetics. I have been developing and implementing a pipeline for reliably estimating the germline mutation rate in primates.
Ask Ivan Simpson-Kent who his early idols were and he would give a surprising response: criminals. This is despite growing up in a dangerous neighborhood in West Philadelphia, where he lived across from drug dealers, often heard gunshots at night, and nearly daily stories of people, mostly youth, getting murdered. “I perceived these criminals as invincible outlaws going against the limits society had placed upon them,” he says.
“My teacher is amazing. This is my second year speaking English for the first time, and she has provided me with help to improve my English skills while learning biological concepts and lab skills. She promotes multiculturalism and diversity, and she deserves some recognition for her hard work.” -Student of Mary Jo Renear at East Longmeadow High School in Western Massachusetts
“The Amgen Scholars experience gave me the opportunity to have my first ever approach to neuroscience and stem cell culture.”
Blog
Host University: The University of Tokyo Home University: Tecnológico de Monterrey Amgen Scholar Year: 2018 Major: Biotechnology Expected Graduation: December 2019
Héctor L Ayala-Del-Río recently received an unexpected thank you card: It was from a local high school science teacher, explaining that she was having a challenging time in her classroom, but how a recent event that Ayala-Del-Río and his team organized made all the difference. She had attended an Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) teacher appreciation event at the Caguas Science Center, and the act of being recognized “made her feel that everything was worth it and that she should keep going,” says Ayala-Del-Río of the University of Puerto Rico-Humacao.
In this video, Amgen Scholars at the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge talk about the many and varied new experiences they had with the program. From new collaborative environments to becoming more independent as scientists, hear students share their stories.
We asked Amgen Scholars attending the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge to tell us something cool about their labs this summer. In this video, the scholars answered: the science. Hear students discuss their experiences exploring new areas of science, from bioinformatics and spores to exoskeletons and clinical neuroscience.
We asked Amgen Scholars attending the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge to tell us something cool about their labs this summer. In this video, the scholars answered: the people. Hear students discuss the importance of diversity, mentorship, and lab culture in sharing their stories.
