Publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals is
an important part of being a scientist. That's why Imran Babar
(pictured left), one of the 6 recipients of the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute's (HHMI) Gilliam Graduate Fellowship, was elated
to be listed as a co-author of not one but two articles published
in June of this year, both of them in top journals. What's really
impressive about Babar's accomplishment is that he did the work for
both papers--one on the role of a population of stem cells in lung
cancer development (published inCell) the other on gene
expression in group AStreptococcus(published
inPNAS)--as a participant in summer undergraduate research
programs.
Babar's research experience helped him realize that he wanted a
career doing cell and molecular biology research and motivated him
to apply to some of the nation's top graduate schools. "I gained a
lot of confidence," says Babar. "I saw that I can be successful in
research at one of the best institutions in the country."
Babar's research experience helped him realize that he wanted a
career doing cell and molecular biology research and motivated him
to apply to some of the nation's top graduate schools.
The graduate programs he applied to recognized his potential:
Babar was accepted at MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. He chose to
attend Yale mainly because the doctoral program in the Department
of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology offered the range
of research that matched his interests well. After Babar received
his B.A. in biology in 2004 from Carleton College in Northfield,
Minnesota, he took a year off before starting graduate school this
fall.
Asking Questions
How do watches work? What are inside radios? As a kid growing up
in the small, rural town of Willow River, Minnesota, Babar asked
questions like these and searched hard for answers. "I never
stopped asking questions." Babar, who is Pakistani and Native
American, spent two summers during his high school years doing
scientific research at the University of Minnesota's Center of
American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH), which provides
education and training for Native Americans interested in health
care professions. It was here that Babar developed his fascination
for research, though he was also considering a career in medicine:
after his two summers of research at CAIMH, he moved on to CAIMH's
Native Americans
Into Medicine Program during the summers before and after his
first year in college. Despite being torn between research and
clinical medicine, his overall experiences at CAIMH, he says, "whet
my appetite for biological sciences."
Following his sophomore year, Babar participated in the Life Sciences Summer
Undergraduate Research Program (LSSURP) at the University of
Minnesota-Twin Cities in St. Paul. This program trains talented
undergraduates who are interested in research in the life sciences.
Here, Babar assisted in the development of tools for diagnosing
bovine enteroviruses.
Strong Influences
Babar's next two summer research experiences had an even greater
impact than the ones that preceeded them: one at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the other
at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) Rocky Mountain
Laboratories Integrated Research Facility in Hamilton,
Montana.
HHMI's Exceptional Research
Opportunities Program (EXROP) allows undergraduates from
disadvantaged backgrounds to work with HHMI scientists from around
the country, and Babar was nominated by faculty at Carleton College
to enter the program in the summer of 2003. He chose to work at
MIT, and his work with lung cancer development netted him his first
co-authorship in the prestigious journalCell.
Babar applied to graduate programs around the country, and
received acceptance letters in early 2004. He chose Yale but
deferred his enrollment into graduate school for 1 year to take
advantage of other learning opportunities. After graduating from
college, Babar did a 3 month summer internship at NIAID's Rocky
Mountain Laboratories. The sponsoring program for the research,
NIH's Intramural
NIAID Research Opportunities (INRO) Program, supports
underrepresented minority students interested in pursuing a
research career in allergy, immunology, or infectious diseases.
Babar joined the lab of James Musser and had two dedicated
scientist mentors there, Steve Porcella and Kimmo Virtaneva. This
work netted him another paper; this one inPNAS.
A Clear Road Ahead
Although Babar is leaning toward becoming a professor and
running his own lab some day, he hasn't ruled out the other
scientific employment sectors. Whatever sector he ends up in, he
intends to be a mentor to students interested in science. "I've
been on the receiving end of mentorship and I see its importance,"
he says. "I want to make a positive impact in people's lives." He
especially wants to encourage minorities. "Underrepresentation [in
science] shouldn't be a discouragement. It should be a motivating
factor."
Edna Francisco is a contributing writer for MiSciNet
and may be reached at eofrancisco@nasw.org.