First-Year Chemistry Major Secures NASA-Sponsored Internship
With NASA funding, Sophia Mora furthers her work in drug delivery
In the few short months since she started her college career at Rutgers University–Camden, chemistry major Sophia Mora secured a NASA-sponsored internship, where she is uncovering new ways to target drug delivery in breast cancer patients.
The work is personal, as her father’s side of the family has a history of the disease. The first-year, first-generation student, who has loved science her entire life, selected the biochemistry track at Rutgers–Camden precisely for its human applications.
“It’s a field that resonated with me,” Mora said. “The statistics we use aren’t simply numbers; there are people behind it.”
Mora, from South Carolina, joined the lab of Youwen “Warren” Zhang, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. After Mora enrolled at Rutgers–Camden this past fall, Zhang encouraged her to apply for the New Jersey Space Grant Consortium’s academic year internship, a NASA-sponsored program that provides a stipend for undergraduates at state schools to conduct research in STEM or space-related fields.
Mora and Zhang’s work involves exosomes, tiny structures secreted by cells, which contain various biomarkers. By analyzing these structures through a process known as nanopore sensing, researchers can detect the presence of proteins or enzymes and load medications into the exosomes. Their goal is to develop a more specific and potentially less invasive method of drug delivery than chemotherapy using a patient’s own carrier.
"Sophia has demonstrated exceptional potential in her initial research endeavors, already achieving a strong grasp of our biopsy systems," Zhang said. "We are aiming to direct Sophia's focus toward breast cancer research and expand her work to include various other cancer types in the future."
Mora estimates her work for the internship adds up to about three or four hours per day on top of her coursework. Still, she happily extends her campus activities to the weekends with Saturday Scholars, a program for first-year, mostly first-generation pre-med students. The group, which meets one Saturday per month, receives career counseling, tours area health care organizations, and taps into to scholarship and fellowship opportunities. “We’ve had medical students and alumni speak to us about their experiences and how they come from similar backgrounds,” Mora said. “You feel if they can get in, you can get in.”
“It’s a field that resonated with me. The statistics we use aren’t simply numbers; there are people behind it.”
Mora trained and served as an emergency medical technician in her hometown and is exploring that option near campus. Looking further ahead, Mora is drawn to emergency medicine. “I would love to be in a space where I'm seeing different things every day, and I feel like ER is one of those places,” she said. However, she hasn’t ruled out a research career after her experience this year.
“I have a love for research to the point that I sometimes wonder what I could ever care about more than this,” Mora said. “I choose to go beyond because I love being here. It's an environment for growth.”
Mora also credited Zhang with fostering a culture conducive to academic and professional growth. “Working with him, you want to not only improve yourself, but improve the lot for everyone else,” she said.
Mora also acknowledged she is one of many female students on campus but does not see herself represented in the STEM fields—and she has already made strides to change that.
“I help all my female friends find opportunities,” Mora said. “I helped one of my friends find research in the forensic lab. Most people just need someone to show them.”
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