Sofia

Sofia
Boston Latin School
Boston, MA

Mentors:
Cedric Howald
Postdoctoral Fellow

Ginger Elvers
Postdoctoral Scholar

Sofia became interested in science through her high school courses and decided to apply for an internship at the Broad Institute to gain insight into an authentic
scientific environment. She especially wanted an understanding of the obstacles posed by working in a laboratory environment, in order to determine
whether she would thrive in a scientific profession. Her internship introduced her to an aspect of science she was not familiar with and opened her eyes to the possibility of pursuing a scientific career.

Sofia worked on a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of golden retrievers with several subsets of sarcoma, a cancer that targets mesenchymal connective tissue. She hoped to find some genetic mutation present in all the afflicted dogs, as further examination into its properties could result in the development of a cure for sarcomas. In order to appeal to Sofia’s interest in both biology and physics, her mentor tailored her research project to involve computer programming, a skill that is prevalent in both fields.

Sofia generally likes to relax by playing cello, reading, watching television, jogging, or playing video games. She also loves learning foreign languages, and one of the items on her bucket list is to study Korean and live in Seoul for a few years.