Week 0: Introduction to My Project
Hello! I’m Gabriel, a student at BASIS DC.
Ever since I was a little kid, I loved animals and biology, and that interest has only grown with time. My goal for my senior project was to explore future career paths, to judge my interest in them and to see if it was something I wished to study and pursue in college. I therefore chose to explore the field of genetic engineering, a practice that has always fascinated me, and has continued to do so throughout my research. My project is on CAR-T, a use of genetic engineering where the immune system’s own T cells are reprogrammed to target and attack cancer cells. I’m looking to find the benefits and drawbacks of CAR-T, alongside the risks presented to patients in this quickly advancing field. While researching CRISPR, a genetic engineering technique, and the uses presented by it, I came across CAR-T and began researching the practice online. All the while, I was looking into opportunities in the field of genetic engineering to figure out what to focus my project around. I always wanted to do a project on the risks, both physical and ethical, of genetic engineering, but after getting the opportunity to intern at Arcellx, a CAR-T firm, I began to focus more heavily on CAR-T and the safety of its use. This spring, I’m excited to be working at the Gathersburg location of Arcellx alongside my mentor Laura Tan and I’m excited to get hands-on experience seeing how T cells are made, and how the risks to patients are mitigated.