Gabby
Cuba
Hometown: Durham, NC
Major: Neuroscience, with a minor in Military Science and Leadership
Research Interest: Cancer immunotherapies
“UNC is going to challenge me and make me step outside of my comfort zone. If you're comfortable, then are you really growing?
WHY did you decide to join the CSS Program and come to Carolina?
I’ve gotten other scholarships from other universities, but they didn’t challenge me. Those scholarships required some community service and sharing whatever research I do in the future with future undergraduates, but that’s it. They didn’t say how being in the scholarship program would help me career-wise or how I would grow. UNC is going to challenge me and make me step outside of my comfort zone. If you’re comfortable, then are you really growing? I know one thing that got my attention was presenting my research findings to other scholars and undergraduates, which will help me improve my speaking skills. I can talk to a small group of people, but I get nervous and stutter once it’s a group of more than 10 people. CSS will help me develop skills and further my understandings of being in a lab setting.
WHAT are you most looking forward to doing during your undergraduate years?
I’ve excited about finding research labs to participate in and figure out where my interests really lie in the broad field of STEM. There are so many branches in one field with many topics that have sub-topics. Every sub-topic is important to create a big picture, so I can’t wait to see how those skills and knowledge all come together.
what is a research topic you are interested in exploring?
I’m interested in studying PD-1 and PD-L1 proteins in cancer immunotherapies.
WHAT are your future goals?
I want to be an oncologist. However, I’m uncertain if I want to be a physician or stick with the research aspect of cancer.