When Mary Soliman ’22 entered Loyola Marymount University, research wasn’t part of the plan. “I was going to get my bachelor’s in biochemistry and then go to medical school and become a physician,” she says. “Now I can’t see myself not doing research.”
The pivotal moment came toward the end of the fall semester of her freshman year, when Kathryn Mouzakis, associate professor of chemistry & biochemistry in the LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Engineering and Science, dropped in on one of Soliman’s classes to announce she was looking for students to join her biochemistry lab — no prior experience necessary. Soliman seized the opportunity and has spent the last three years conducting research as part of Mouzakis’ team. “It’s probably the best decision I ever made,” she says, smiling widely.
Now a senior biochemistry major with minors in business and writing, Soliman has a plan to continue with research beyond her graduation from LMU this spring. Recently, she was selected to the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program. In addition to awarding up to $20,000 per academic year to support the tuition and expenses of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are committed to careers in biomedical, behavioral, and social science health-related research, the program provides paid research training at the NIH during the summer, followed by paid employment and training in an NIH research laboratory for a year after graduation.
In Soliman’s case, the training will take place on the National Cancer Institute’s campus in Frederick, Maryland, in the lab of Dr. Sandra Wolin, a physician-scientist who is chief of the RNA Biology Laboratory at NCI’s Center for Cancer Research. It’s an ideal fit for Soliman, who plans to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs after completing her NIH commitment. “I’m so excited about this opportunity,” she says. “It’s a chance to see how I like working in a lab full-time…though I already know I’ll love it.”
Soliman can speak with confidence about her affinity for research based on her experience as an LMU undergraduate in the lab of Mouzakis, whose focus is on viruses that infect and cause human disease — specifically, a facet of the life cycle of viruses with RNA genomes that is critical to their ability to replicate. Soliman’s time in Mouzakis’ lab included full-time work last summer through Seaver College’s Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research program, which funds undergraduates to participate in faculty-mentored, hands-on research. Her contributions led Mouzakis to include Soliman as an author on a study published in the peer-reviewed journal RNA. Soliman also went on to present her research at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s national conference.
“Getting published in a scientific journal was an awesome experience that can only happen at a place like LMU, where you’re able to work so closely with professors on research as an undergraduate,” Soliman says. “People who have been in Ph.D. programs talk about how important it is to have a good mentor, and Dr. Mouzakis has been wonderful in that way — asking questions to make sure I’m understanding things, having faith in me when I make mistakes, and then pushing me out of my comfort zone and helping me grow as an independent researcher. It was because of her that I fell in love with research.”
