Women in STEM - Chrissy Horton Interns at WSU

In DRSS's unique career exploration model, students are required to do to do two job shadowing days and at least one 72-hour internship during their Sophomore, Junior, or Senior years. Last year while on a college visit to Wright State University, Chrissy Horton (now a Junior at The Dayton Regional STEM School) got into a discussion with Dr. David Goldstein, Chair of the Biology Department in WSU's College of Science and Mathematics and DRSS. Dr. Goldstein said that during her visit he was "impressed by Chrissy's strong interest in and commitment to studying science" and offered on the spot to help her find an internship opportunity.
  

Chrissy is a junior at the Dayton Regional STEM School

Chrissy followed up on that offer and, as a result, did her internship this past summer in the labs of the Biology Department. Chrissy said she took Dr. Goldstein's advice to heart to "just learn as much as I can." With that mindset she dove right into the the lab's current research topics, assisting the researchers with studies that seek to understand the ways by which cells tolerate the stresses of cold and freezing. The laboratory Chrissy interned with studies an amphibian (frog) species that becomes naturally tolerant of freezing with the onset of cold weather. Chrissy recalls that "they were testing different aquaporins in the lab, which they studied by injecting aquaporins into African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) eggs to figure out how fast water would leave the cells through osmosis." One of the things she learned was "what Aquaporin-9 is," which, she explained, "is a protein that helps the movement of water, and it’s important so the frogs can freeze." For Chrissy, though, the coolest part was the surgery to collect the eggs, because "you don't usually think of surgery as actually stitching skin together, so it was a really cool experience to see that."

Above is a picture of Chrissy holding a pipette and injecting solution into a gel that they made to hold the protein.

During her internship experience Chrissy worked with a combination of undergraduate and graduate students in the lab. She also was able to spend a bit of time observing two labs that work on virology alongside Dr. Katherine Excoffon (whose son attends DRSS) and Dr. Dawn Wooley. This made a big impact on her, and she explained that she learned "how important HIV research was," and was encouraged by Dr. Wooley's advice to "think about college now and realize how important it is to take advantage of every opportunity you can." Chrissy was already interested in HIV research thanks to Ms. Tash's Wellness & Fitness class, but now she is considering a career as an epidemiologist or a genetic engineer so that she can help tackle the problem of HIV/AIDS either in the lab or through public health education. She particularly wanted to study this subject after watching a video in Ms. Tash's class during which she learned that "in many countries people are afraid to go to the doctor because they’re afraid of being exposed to HIV through the doctors, and I want to work to change this." 

Chrissy earned high praise from those she interned with, including Dr. Goldstein, who also serves as the President of the Dayton Regional STEM School's Governing Board and as the principal investigator of the LEADER Consortium, an inter-institutional collaboration between AFIT, Central State, and the University of Dayton aimed at promoting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women faculty in STEM disciplines. Dr. Goldstein is anxious to have her return, stating that "we hope to have her back in the lab again during her remaining years at DRSS."

When she's not studying, Chrissy enjoys the hobbies of singing, boxing, and track, although she admits that her schedule is "a little too busy for those right now." She is, however, making time to keep up with the Presidential Debates, and is very excited that Wright State will be hosting the first one next year. Chrissy hopes one of her favorite candidates, Dr. Ben Carson, will be on stage then, particularly after being inspired by his movie, Gifted Hands, nearly ten years ago.

In summarizing her internship experience, Chrissy explained that it was "one of the best experiences of my life so far.” She truly appreciated the relationships she built with Drs. Goldstein, Excoffon, and Wooley, as well as their "advice and encouragement." When asked about how she will choose between being a genetic engineer, an epidemiologist, or - her other career of choice - a neurosurgeon, Chrissy explained that she has time to think about it, but that "no matter what I decide to do, I’ll do fully, with everything I have. I'll break barriers and speak up for what I believe in.”