North Star Dreamers Memorial Scholarship

Imagine waking up one day and not recognizing your face in the mirror. You’ve forgotten the names of your loved ones, the places you’ve visited, and the memories you’ve made—the culprit: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). It was over dinner on a stormy November evening in junior year when my parents revealed to me that my bloodline had the genetic presence of APOE4, an allele regarded to increase one's chance of developing AD. At that moment, I felt shocked and scared, at first believing I was a victim of my “ancestors’ curse". Curious to investigate, I started searching for answers, eventually realizing that science controlled my destiny, not fate. Driven by fear and hope, I sought an opportunity to contribute to the fight against AD. When I first joined Professor Hemachandra Reddy’s lab, I was excited but slightly intimidated. As a high schooler in a lab full of med students and postdocs, I didn’t know whether I would be welcomed. While I entered unsure of what to expect, I quickly realized that my peers never judged my age, but the ideas and work I brought forward. I found a second home in that research lab, but the research insights I gained were even more meaningful. Throughout the process, I learned how to apply software, such as EndNote for referencing, BioRender for creating detailed figures and tables, and PubMed for reading past literature. Professor Reddy also shared his experiences with confounding AbSynapTEX, LLC (a medical research company, particularly focused on AD), which I plan to implement as an undergraduate researcher. Eventually Professor Reddy allowed me to go one step further and lead my own project, resulting in a first-author publication on how damaged cholinergic receptors in the brain of AD patients could be systematically treated by magnetically guided nanoparticles encapsulated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors - the currently used drug for early-onset AD. After publishing a first-author paper on nanoparticles' role in bypassing the blood-brain barrier of Alzheimer's Disease patients to deliver therapeutics efficiently, I began envisioning a career for myself in the field. I wish to start my own medical technology business, focusing on treating neurodegenerative diseases and an endgame of reconnecting neuronal pathways. By applying all my experiences gained from Reddy's lab and working next year alongside The University of Texas at Austin's Biomedical Engineering and Entrepreneurship Program, I hope to be able to come up with medical devices capable of being implanted in AD patients, providing possible early detection and easier deliverance. Ultimately, I plan on collaborating with similar biopharmaceutical companies, like NeuroPace, in developing the future of effective drug therapy. Because no matter how potent the medications might be in treating the disease, overcoming organic obstacles, such as breaching the Blood-Brain Barrier in Alzheimer's Disease, is essential for achieving a successful procedure and preventing harmful side effects in patients. Since my first day in the lab, I’ve grown more confident in myself and am growing into the scientist I dreamt of becoming. When I presented my research at the 2nd Healthy Aging and Dementia Research Symposium, my age was just a number and my disability felt easier to handle. In that lab environment, my most significant discovery was within myself - I had found an amazing community of people dedicated to the fight against neurological disorders. It's been 118 years since we discovered AD, and countless victims have been lost, including two of my grandparents. However, through years of further innovative research in college and beyond, I seek to forge new headlines: 'Scientists have found a new easily administered drug capable of reversing the progression of Alzheimer's Disease.'