The Nebraska Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program has welcomed 26 undergraduate students from across Nebraska as they embark on their summer research experience at Creighton University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and UNMC.
Below, Patricia Harte-Maxwell talks about her INBRE experience.
Tell us about yourself. Who are your heroes?
My name is Patricia Harte-Maxwell. I recently finished my second year at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where I am double majoring in biology and English. I was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Today I live in Council Bluffs, Iowa. My heroes are, among others, my parents, Edward Jenner, and Ernst Mayr, as well as a slew of writers and artists.
What are your career goals?
As far as my career goals are concerned, I’m currently trying to make the most of being an undergraduate student (which has led me to the INBRE program). After completing my bachelor degrees, I plan to continue my education by attending graduate school — where and what degree that entails changes every day.
How did you become interested in science?
I’ve always been interested in science, since grade school, because it satisfies my need to understand the world around me. Biology particularly intrigued me because biology at a base level is the study of ourselves — how we, individually and collectively as human beings — evolved, survived, and continue to do so.
What do you hope the INBRE program will do for you?
I hope the INBRE program will give me the opportunity to explore scientific research in depth. For example, most of my coursework throughout the academic year talks about scientific procedures and how they were developed without actually providing a chance to perform those procedures. Beyond a fundamental introduction to research, I hope I can discover a specific area or two that I would like to continue working in, perhaps virology.
How do you see science evolving over the next 20 years?
In 20 years, I actually imagine science to be similar to what it is now, though many of the emerging technologies and products of science today will hopefully (finally) be vetted and employed in clinics, labs, and the real world.
Congratulations on being in the INBRE program, Patricia! You are bound for greatness. And, it's good to see you on campus again.