David Duronslet, Biological Sciences, Junior, 2022

Undergraduate Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Marc Facciotti
Three words to describe me: Innovative, Resolute, Selfless

What are your future plans and/or goals?

I am currently awaiting responses for the 4 grad schools I applied to, but regardless of the result I plan to continue research and broaden my knowledge so that hopefully I am able to do something really cool and find a way to make microbes work for us.

In what ways has engaging in undergraduate research impacted your future goals and plans?

Engaging in undergraduate research really opened my eyes to what I love to do, see a problem and attack it. It allows me to find multiple ways to solve a problem, and network with others, building my own communicating skills for the betterment of society. After joining my research project and being able to run a team I was able to determine that research was something that I could see myself doing, and if I had more time at UC Davis I would've loved to explore other opportunities or even dive even further into the 3D Bioprinter.

What contribution(s) will your research make to your field of study?

My research, to put it simply, was to find a way to produce a bacterium capable of secreting an enzyme that would typically be incredibly expensive, and fix it inside a gel. The enzyme is normally found in the liver and is incredibly hard to extract, and therefore using it for a treatment is incredibly expensive. By printing bacteria with the gene to produce the enzyme in a 3D gel, we are preventing it from moving while also being able to collect the secreted target enzyme. This would make treatments cheaper as you wouldn't have to extract it from someone or something else, and would not have to worry about losing bacteria in a purification process.

What preparation and research experience did you have before applying to your research program?

Prior to applying to my research program, the only research experience I had was at my community college as a part of a class. Other than that none really, just a lot of lab skills from biology and biotech classes. Going into my interview with the BioInnovation group I was confident and trusted what I knew at got my position as the Cell Team Lead.

Personal achievements/accomplishments or other news and information:

My biggest achievement was making it to the point where I am in life.

What advice do you have for other undergraduate students seeking research experiences?

When you're seeking a research experience do what seems interesting to you. The more interested in it, the more invested you'll be into it and want to go into the lab each day. Also when you are interviewed, trust yourself and what you know, if you don't know something be honest, a lot of people would rather work with someone willing to learn rather than someone who thinks they know everything but doesn't.

David has this to say about the CAMP program:

"CAMP is an amazing program that can provide resources and opportunities that you might not have known about. Being a transfer student, joining CAMP allowed me to feel like I had caught up and developed a lot of the leadership and soft skills that I never had the opportunity to at my community college. It also was a place where I felt at home and provided a sense of community, being so far from home, because everyone there wants to see us all succeed and improve."

What else would you like us to know about you?

I'm human like anyone else, I have my ups and downs and never try to let anything negative get to me. And even if it does its not about how far I've gotten set back, but rather how I recover and move on that truly matters.