BioTrain intern Sabrina Cline first heard of HudsonAlpha when she participated in the Institute’s Middle School Biotech Camps. Her experience with camps led her to pursue a career in microbiology and apply for the BioTrain program once in college.
A student majoring in microbiology at Auburn University, Cline began working in a lab studying the KSHV virus in order to increase her research experience to become a competitive applicant for BioTrain.
Sabrina Cline
“I want to work in a research setting for my career,” Cline said. “So [BioTrain] is just giving me another view of it. I am able to approach research from a more clinical point of view which is awesome to get exposure to that type of research. It is basically preparing me for different things that I will need to help my ultimate research path.”
During her week at Biotech Bootcamp, the orientation program that must be completed by all the incoming summer BioTrain interns, Cline was exposed to new aspects of genomic research such as computational biology. This was the first year the orientation program included a full day workshop on the topic.
Cline says she hopes to gain more molecular skills in order to apply it to further research down the road. She is most interested in learning how the research at the nonprofit HudsonAlpha differs from research in the academic and governmental sectors.
Cline is working with iCubate, a company founded by Jian Han, MD, PhD, HudsonAlpha faculty investigator. Dr Han has developed technology for infectious disease detection. iCubate has taken that technology and has recently been cleared by the FDA for clinical use. Cline is working with Dr. Han and molecular biologists Hongna Liu, PhD; and Matt Conover, PhD, on research for other diagnostic tests needed by patients and physicians.
“My ultimate goal as a BioTrain intern is to sharpen my research and laboratory skills and also contribute to developing assays that will help people get the diagnosis and treatment they need.” Cline said.
Cline will present her research at the annual BioTrain poster session July 27.
