{"id":1165,"date":"2022-08-09T10:34:07","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T14:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp.sunypoly.edu\/stories\/?p=1165"},"modified":"2025-10-30T15:18:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T19:18:53","slug":"experience-matters-summer-internships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp.sunypoly.edu\/stories\/experience-matters-summer-internships\/","title":{"rendered":"Experience Matters: Summer Internships"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Summer is an excellent time for students to obtain practical experience in their field of study. Over the summer months, many SUNY Poly students choose to pursue an internship or other applied learning experience to satisfy a degree requirement, gain experience, and build connections with employers in careers they are interested in pursuing. Read about recent student internship experiences below:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Masonic Medical Research Institute<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Four SUNY Poly students were selected to participate in the Masonic Medical Research Institute<\/a> Summer Fellowship Program. The ten-week program immerses undergraduate, graduate, and medical students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) projects, providing students the opportunity to immerse themselves in cutting edge research. Each student is paired with a principal scientist at the Institute, and together, work to design a scientific project that complements both the interests of the student and those of the laboratory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Yashi Agarwal is a biology major at SUNY Poly. and she is currently enrolled in the Upstate Accelerated Scholars Program<\/a>, which guarantees her acceptance into Upstate’s Doctor of Medicine (MD) program after receiving her bachelors degree. She applied for the Summer Fellowship at MMRI after completing an independent study with Dr. Sathya Unudurthi in Spring 2022.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\"Yashi<\/figure>\r\n
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Cardiovascular disease is so prominent in today’s world and affects so many people we care about, that any information and work towards targeted therapies can make a huge difference. I was excited to not only gain hands-on lab skills and refine my dexterity during this experience but also learn about the work that goes on behind the scenes for the things we learn about in medical education.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Biology and psychology major Catherine Hagearty-Mattern was drawn to MMRI’s research in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. “I lost my uncle when I was a kid, and I was told it was because \u2018he had too big of a heart” said Hagearty-Mattern. “At the time, I didn’t understand that this was an idiom, but even as I grew to understand what that meant, I still did not understand how the size of the heart had an impact on its function.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Hagearty-Mattern tested different methods of peptide synthesis that targets fibrin, which, when injected into the body, will bind with any fibrin found within the artery. “When this peptide is conjugated to a dye, it effectively becomes a marker for disease” said Hagearty-Mattern. “This fibrin-targeted peptide probe can be utilized to study cardiovascular disease, as fibrin deposition is a hallmark of atherosclerosis.” After graduation, Hagearty-Mattern plans on pursuing an MD or Ph.D.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\"Catherine<\/figure>\r\n
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There are so many different factors of cardiovascular disease, some of which we are still trying to understand. I am excited to see how the scientific community, including MMRI, can shed some light on such a devastating disease.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n