STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Meet Peter Soliman! Peter is a fourth-year Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology major, currently conducting research in the Lowry Lab. He is a part of the Integrated and Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Program (i2URP) and the Beckman Program, and plans to become a physician-scientist. Peter credits both programs in enriching his undergraduate and research experiences by providing him with the mentorship, resources, and time to become more deeply involved in the research and the broader scientific community. Read Peter’s full interview below.
1. What is your year and major?
I am a fourth-year Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology major.
2. How did you first get involved in your research project? Tell us a bit about the lab you are in and the research you are conducting!
I joined the Lowry Lab at the beginning of my sophomore year. One of the lab’s main areas of research is Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder classically resulting from loss of function of methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2). Our work suggests that loss of this protein leads to the accumulation of DNA damage, which may be one contributor to the mutant phenotypes associated with Rett syndrome. When I first joined the lab, my project examined whether the DNA damage we identified in our in vitro neuronal models was also present in vivo. Since then, the project has gradually expanded to investigate which proteins may contribute to this excess damage and whether the genomic locations of DNA breaks help explain other molecular changes in MECP2-mutant neurons.
3. How would you describe your research experience at UCLA?
My research experience at UCLA has been amazing so far! From the beginning, my graduate student mentor, Niloufar Mansooralavi, and Dr. William Lowry have put a great deal of thought into my mentorship and development, creating an environment where I feel comfortable asking questions, suggesting ideas, and collaborating with others. They have taught me many valuable experimental techniques and, more importantly, how to think through and design research questions. Most of all, the environment they have created has made the lab somewhere I am excited to come to every day and strengthened my desire to continue pursuing research.
4. What is one piece of advice you have for other students thinking about getting involved in research?
Although I am still figuring things out myself, one piece of advice I would give is not to wait until you feel completely prepared to get involved in research. It can be intimidating to listen to a research presentation filled with unfamiliar techniques and terminology and come away thinking you need more upper-division coursework or additional experience before you can contribute. In my experience, however, much of learning research comes from actually doing it. You also do not need to understand everything from the beginning. I have found that learning happens gradually: I encounter something unfamiliar, learn enough to use or understand it, and in the process uncover another question or gap in my knowledge. Over time, this cycle leads to a better understanding of your specific project as well as your field more generally.
5. Have you attended a conference before? If so, can you describe your experience on preparation, presenting, etc.?
Yes! I have had the opportunity to attend several conferences, and they have been some of my favorite research experiences. They are a great way to practice communicating your science while also receiving feedback from researchers with different training backgrounds who may see your project from an entirely different perspective. For most conferences, preparation begins with submitting an abstract a few months in advance, which forces you to decide what story you want your poster or oral presentation to tell. From there, the challenge is figuring out which results are most important and how to organize them into a clear argument. This is often the most time-consuming part, but it has also been one of the most valuable for me because it forces me to piece my results together and see whether the logic that makes sense in my head actually makes sense out loud. Once the preparation is finished, presenting is very rewarding. Every attendee I’ve encountered has been genuinely curious, whether they are completely unfamiliar with the work or studying something similar from a different angle. This makes poster sessions especially feel more like conversations than formal presentations.
6. What are your future career goals?
I hope to eventually become a physician-scientist, caring for patients while also using research to expand what we know about disease and, hopefully, the treatments available to them.
7. Please list any URC/departmental programs you are/were involved in. How has your experience been in these programs?
In 2024, I joined Dr. Tracy Johnson’s COMPASS Program, whose mentorship and resources helped connect me with the Lowry Lab. As I became more involved in research, I wanted a consistent space outside of conferences to practice communicating both my own work and research outside my immediate field, which led me to join the Integrated and Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Program (i2URP) in Fall 2025. More recently, the Beckman Scholars Program has allowed me to continue conducting research over the summer while also exposing me to work very different from my own through the Beckman Symposium. These programs have enriched both my undergraduate and research experiences by providing me with the mentorship, resources, and, importantly, time to become more deeply involved in research and the broader scientific community.
8. What was the impact of undergraduate research on your career path?
Undergraduate research introduced me to the physician-scientist career path and made it clear that I want a career in which I can both care for patients clinically and contribute through research.
