Daniel is a rising third-year at the University of Chicago majoring in biological sciences. At UChicago, he is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Erin Adams’ lab, where he investigates molecular immune system interactions from a structural standpoint. At UCLA, Daniel is conducting research under Dr. Thomas Graeber in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology. His research this summer intends to identify key genes that promote chromosomal instability. Chromosomal instability, alongside aneuploidy, is a highly common characteristic of cancer that is predictive of poor patient outcomes. These chromosomal abnormalities are believed to be linked to whole genome duplication, a distinct event where the entire genome is duplicated. To achieve this project’s goals, genotoxic small molecule drug treatment will be used to induce polyploidy in a colorectal cancer cell line. Transduction of a CRISPR construct and barcode library and a subsequent knockout screen will be used prior to flow cytometry to sort cells into high chromosomal instability and low chromosomal instability populations. These cell populations will then be sequenced to identify which barcodes are enriched and de-enriched, which will help identify key genes leading to chromosomal instability. Daniel would like to thank the Amgen Foundation, Dr. Thomas Graeber, his postdoctoral mentor Nikolas Balanis, and the rest of the Graeber Lab for supporting, mentoring, and encouraging his development as a scientist.