Honours Student of the Month - September

Honours Student of the Month - Sorush Rokui "How have you enjoyed your experience as an Honours Student so far?" "Being an Honours student has been a good time so far. Since I've already worked in the Côté lab, I haven't had the learning curve that some other students may have had. With that said, I've been able to jump right into my project, which I've really valued." "Tell us about your project." "My project focuses on chemoresistance in solid tumours. At the core of these tumours, hypoxia and other stressors can lead to the formation of stress granules, which make certain types of cancers, such as breast cancer (our focus) very resistant to certain chemotherapy drugs. We're looking into a group of proteins that have been shown to play a role in the formation of these stress granules." "What advice would you give to other undergraduate researchers?" "If you're in first year, I would recommend browsing around the uOttawa directories for the faculties you're interested in (eg. Science, Medicine, School of Psychology, etc.). In second or third year, you can apply for the UROP scholarship, which is intended to be students' first formal lab experience. From there, you can pursue other research positions, such as an Honours project in your fourth year." "What is the most embarrassing thing you have done in the lab?" "To be honest, I've done a lot of embarrassing things. One that has stuck with me was the first time I ran a polyacrylamide gel - it leaked three times, and it was only after my frustration that I realized it was because the clamping apparatus was upside down. Rough day at the office to say the least." Photo Credits: Minson Kao