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Gamma '18 Thrives in NIH Lab Internship
You don’t often hear “cured cancer” as a response to “What did you do this summer?,” but senior Madison Gamma can say she did just that after interning at the National Institutes of Health.
Gamma worked in a biology lab at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences for six weeks. She earned the internship, which is traditionally reserved for college students, after sending an email to Dr. Matt Hall, the Group Leader of Biology at NCATS.
“I said, ‘I would really like to have the opportunity to prove myself an asset to your lab. I will not let you down,’” Gamma said. “I was the only high school student. I was in a little over my head at the beginning, but I caught on and I loved it.”
Gamma was responsible for growing and maintaining three cancer cell lines. After introducing a cancer drug to the cells, she observed whether the healthy cells were inhibited or unaffected.
“After you learn what healthy cells look like, you’re able to tell really quickly if they’re doing well or not,” Gamma said. “They were like my little babies. I felt maternal toward them.”
She said her research could help patients with rare types of cancer. Hall said Gamma’s dedication to her cancer cell lines did not go unnoticed.
“If you find an internship and commit to it, you need to be prepared to work really, really hard, and Madison did,” Hall said. “She was here on Sundays, late at night - she did what she needed to do for the experiments.”
Gamma also gave presentations to the NCATS interns, contributed to a scientific paper, and even sequenced her own genes. One of her biggest takeaways from the experience, she said, was that failure in the lab is inevitable, but also essential to learning.
“When you’re on the cutting edge of innovative research, things don’t always work, and that’s how you learn and improve your methodology,” Gamma said. “I was definitely fortunate to learn failure is a good thing. Failure is necessary for scientific research and also necessary for growth.”
Hall said he was impressed with Gamma’s maturity and scientific knowledge, and how she applied both in a professional setting.
“Madison was working alongside and with people in the lab who have Ph.D.s, worked at pharmaceutical companies, coordinated drug discovery programs - a diverse set of biologists,” Hall said. “She had the maturity to be able to interact with people of all training levels and ages, and the intelligence to work with a pretty complex set of information all at once.”
Gamma will continue conducting research this year for the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning as a Finn Student Research Fellow. She said the internship has helped her feel more motivated, and less anxious, as she enters her senior year and prepares for college.
“I’m looking forward to starting the next chapter of my book in college,” said Gamma, who aspires to become a doctor. “To have already had the opportunity to be in the lab, I think colleges will really admire that I was able to swim in a setting where it’s really sink or swim.”
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool (Age 2) through grade 12, located in Potomac, Maryland.