Virginia Commonwealth University
Annual Report 2020-2021
Experimenting with the future
As a federal work-study recipient, Lesly Turcios-Hernandez is required to land a job in order to finance her education. But as a pre-med student, she also wanted to pursue a research position where she could enhance her lab skills. It’s a difficult choice many students have faced and can be a barrier to accessing the full range of educational opportunities available to them.
Thanks to the VCU Work-Study Research Assistant Program, Turcios-Hernandez didn’t have to choose.
A partnership between the VCU Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and the VCU Work Study Office, the program hires more than 200 work-study research assistants each year. Of those, 45 percent are underrepresented minoritized students, and 40 percent are first-generation college students.
Turcios-Hernandez first applied for a research technician position in assistant professor Alaattin Kaya’s biology lab for the spring 2021 semester, but didn’t get the job. Two months later, however, Kaya reached out about a summer fellowship, which Tucios-Hernandez accepted and then parlayed into a work-study research position for the 2021-22 academic year.
I get to do research, I get to strengthen my love for science. And I get paid for it.
Turcios-Hernandez started off doing cell dissections to analyze the replicative lifespan of epigenetic genes in an effort to understand why certain genes enable a cell to live longer. She’s developing crucial wet lab skills — like PCR, gel electrophoresis, and western gel blotting — that are a necessary foundation for medical school. She also learned how to keep detailed records, manage her time effectively, problem-solve unexpected challenges, and be persistent.
“I get to do research, I get to learn things, I get to strengthen my love for science, I get other requirements done,” she said. “And I get paid for it.”
The experience has led Turcios-Hernandez to reconsider her future plans. She’s always wanted to be an internal medicine doctor, but now she’s considering M.D.-Ph.D. programs and having her own research lab.
“I had never thought about doing research until I started my own projects,” she said. “I fell in love with being in a lab and doing all of these experiments.”