Yohanna

Yohanna
Newton North High School
Newton, MA

Mentors:
Pratiti Bandopadhayay and Ryan O'Rourke
Cancer Program 

Yohanna has been interested in science ever since seventh-grade biology. Knowing that she was interested in a future career in science, she applied to the Broad Summer Scholars Program for the opportunity to see first-hand what a career would really be like.

Yohanna worked with MYC-amplified medulloblastoma cells which are resistant to JQ1, an experimental new cancer drug. She compared the expression of cell cycle, growth regulator, and differentiation markers among sensitive and resistant cell lines to determine if the upregulation of these genes conferred resistance to JQ1 in the cancer cells.

Yohanna’s favorite part of working at the Broad was seeing how her research made an impact on the larger, ongoing research project in her lab. She also loved the friendly and collaborative environment. The experience confirmed her desire to pursue a career in science or medicine, and she is more confident about the decision to major in biology in college.