The Beginning (About Me)

Have you ever had a runny nose that wouldn't go away? Or clogged sinuses? Or perhaps a fever, with a side of coughing? If so, then you know that the flu is annoying and inconvenient, and sometimes it's deadly. (If not, then this might not be the blog for you.) But what if there was a vaccine for the flu?  What if you could say goodbye to the runny nose, the clogged sinuses, the fever, the coughing?

As you might already know, my name is Lauren and I'm in the graduating class of 2015 at BASIS Scottsdale. I plan to do my Senior Research Project (SRP) at Brigham Young University with Dr. David Busath. This February, I will go to BYU for several weeks to research the influenza A virus. In my SRP, I hope to find a form of the drug amantadine that can block the M2 protein channel in the virus, preventing replication. More details about my project can be found here.

I first became interested in chemistry in 7th grade. By the end of 9th grade, chemistry was my favorite subject, partly because my siblings and I had an unspoken agreement: chemistry would be my subject, biology my sister's, and physics my brother's (such is the life of a triplet). After taking AP Chemistry and AP Biology, I realized that I liked learning about molecules and their functions. I wanted to try my hand at working in a lab.

Fortunately for me, my uncle, Dr. David Busath, agreed to become my SRP mentor, allowing me to have access to a lab. Also, my biology teacher of five years, Mr. Nishan, has agreed to be my faculty adviser. I'm excited for this opportunity (although I'm slightly less excited about the colder weather). I hope that I'll learn more about research and labs during my SRP, and whether I want to do more research in the future.

In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy my (attempt to) blog! My whole project - including both the research and the blogging - is a work in progress, a learning experience. There's only one way to get better.

Until next time!
- Lauren