This week, we are spotlighting Kaylyn Myers! Kaylyn is a first-year student majoring in Biochemistry on the pre-med track. Kayln is a Presidential Scholar, and Undergraduate Merit Scholar at Florida State University open for current high-school seniors. They are also involved in GGSS or Garnet and Gold Scholar Society, and Phi Eta Sigma, an honor society for first-year college students in all disciplines. Outside of UROP, they enjoy working on cars, riding horses, and playing video games.
Kaylyn is a student research assistant in UROP, the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.The research project they are assisting with is called “In the nick of time: understanding the eviction of an assembly chaperone Hsm3 from 26S proteasomes.”
Kaylyn has always been interested in research and how research can help others: “I’ve always had a great interest in research because I’ve spent so much time in my life learning about these scientific concepts, I wanted to see how I could apply it and make my positive impact on the world”. Kaylyn continues explaining how research helps with critical thinking and how different disciplines overlap and work together to make societal progress:
“Especially as a pre-med student, I’ve always enjoyed drawing connections between clinical trials and other areas of research, because the overlap between different sectors in science allows for many people to be unified in progressing not just the field of medicine, but other fields in science as well.”
UROP helped Kaylyn learn more skills and knowledge to expand their skill set to benefit their career and different communities with their work: “My favorite part of UROP has been the amazing opportunities I’ve gotten. My experiences and knowledge that I gain in my lab are priceless. I’ve gained public speaking experience, learned complex microbiology and biochemistry concepts, learned how to write abstracts, introductions etc. and so many more things. This will all serve to make me a better researcher in the future, as I have aspirations to work in clinical trials as a student in medical school.”
As for other students, Kaylyn thinks UROP is a great experience for all students, regardless of their future in research, because of what they will learn and take away: “I would strongly encourage them to do so. UROP takes a very intimidating field, and guides you on the path to success…I firmly believe that these skills are essential for anyone, regardless of their aspirations in research.”
Kaylyn hopes to continue conducting research, even after UROP, like in medical school, so they can make their impact on the field of medicine from multiple facets.
Thank you for contributing to research and the FSU community Kaylyn!
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