Camryn is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. At UMass, Camryn is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Jennifer Rauch’s lab, which studies the molecular mechanisms that regulate the spread and aggregation of the protein tau and its association with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. As an Amgen Scholar at UCLA, Camryn works in Dr. David Nathanson’s lab to investigate the molecular biology of malignant brain tumors, specifically glioblastoma, the most lethal type of glioma. Understanding the functional biology and the altered cellular functional processes of glioma cells is essential in discovering therapeutics for this disease. Camryn’s project focuses on two novel drugs and how they modulate lipid-mediated cell death of gliomaspheres. She is investigating different neuronally derived glioma cell lines and culturing them in serum and serum-free conditions to explore how differentiation of stem-like glioma cells and their microenvironment affects their sensitivity to these two drugs. This includes monitoring the status of stem-like and differential gene markers in these two cell lines over the course of their differentiation, and quantifying cell sensitivity to the drugs through cell death assays. Camryn would like to thank Dr. Nathanson, Jenny Salinas, the Nathanson lab, and the Amgen Foundation for their support during this incredible opportunity to further foster a love and a passion for science.