Who I am
My name is Joanna Jiang and I am a freshman at the Penn State University. I have been passionate about science since I was very young, so it's no surprise that I'm in the College of Science, majoring in biology (vertebrate physiology option) and minoring in global health.
As a student in the Schreyer Honors College, I will be completing a thesis that will serve as a culmination of all my research, learning, and experiences in college. Right now my interests are split between neuroscience and infectious diseases-- I would like to explore both fields over the next several years and write a thesis in one of these areas. I am excited to see where I will go!
As a student in the Schreyer Honors College, I will be completing a thesis that will serve as a culmination of all my research, learning, and experiences in college. Right now my interests are split between neuroscience and infectious diseases-- I would like to explore both fields over the next several years and write a thesis in one of these areas. I am excited to see where I will go!
Highlights of This Year
Research: Genetic Bases of Schizophrenia
This February, I began research in Dr. Yingwei Mao's lab in the Neuroscience department. His work focuses on schizophrenia and a number genes that have been linked to this disorder. I am currently working on a project with the Cas9 gene, which codes for a protein that unwinds DNA before snipping out a target sequence that can be marked by a specific gRNA. The gene can be combined with another larger segment in the lab-- this makes it easier for Cas9 to be potentially inserted into mice embryos, where it can knock out other genes so their role can be identified by studying the animals' behavior, or testing for proteins in their brains.
All of this was completely new to me when I started the project. Even though I've spent less than one semester in Dr. Mao's lab, I have learned so much about both neuroscience concepts and research methods. I plan to continue working on this research throughout the summer.
The Anti-Hunger Games!
This fall, I had the opportunity to design and execute a semester-long service project that would benefit either Penn State or the State College community. I sat down one night in September and wrote down a long list of ideas, and one seemed to stick-- the idea of a food drive competition between groups of students on campus. Since then, our group has modified and expanded the idea, and officially turned it into the "Anti-Hunger Games." More on this here.
Global Brigades
This year I am actively involved in Penn State's chapter of Global Brigades, an organization that allows college students to travel to underserved rural communities in other countries to do volunteer work. This summer I will be going to a community about two hours away from Accra in Ghana. This will actually be my first time traveling to Africa (or any continent outside of Asia and North America)!
My brigade will be shadowing local Ghanaian physicians, distributing medication, seeing patients, watching OB/GYN and dental procedures, and looking at the social infrastructure and health care and insurance system of the community to try to make everything more sustainable. Since I'm minoring in global health, these topics are extremely interesting to me and I can't wait to find out how things work in a region that is so different from the United States!
This February, I began research in Dr. Yingwei Mao's lab in the Neuroscience department. His work focuses on schizophrenia and a number genes that have been linked to this disorder. I am currently working on a project with the Cas9 gene, which codes for a protein that unwinds DNA before snipping out a target sequence that can be marked by a specific gRNA. The gene can be combined with another larger segment in the lab-- this makes it easier for Cas9 to be potentially inserted into mice embryos, where it can knock out other genes so their role can be identified by studying the animals' behavior, or testing for proteins in their brains.
All of this was completely new to me when I started the project. Even though I've spent less than one semester in Dr. Mao's lab, I have learned so much about both neuroscience concepts and research methods. I plan to continue working on this research throughout the summer.
The Anti-Hunger Games!
This fall, I had the opportunity to design and execute a semester-long service project that would benefit either Penn State or the State College community. I sat down one night in September and wrote down a long list of ideas, and one seemed to stick-- the idea of a food drive competition between groups of students on campus. Since then, our group has modified and expanded the idea, and officially turned it into the "Anti-Hunger Games." More on this here.
Global Brigades
This year I am actively involved in Penn State's chapter of Global Brigades, an organization that allows college students to travel to underserved rural communities in other countries to do volunteer work. This summer I will be going to a community about two hours away from Accra in Ghana. This will actually be my first time traveling to Africa (or any continent outside of Asia and North America)!
My brigade will be shadowing local Ghanaian physicians, distributing medication, seeing patients, watching OB/GYN and dental procedures, and looking at the social infrastructure and health care and insurance system of the community to try to make everything more sustainable. Since I'm minoring in global health, these topics are extremely interesting to me and I can't wait to find out how things work in a region that is so different from the United States!