Elizabeth Jaimes

During Elizabeth Jaimes’,’15, summer internship at the UNC Gillings School of Public Health, the Meredith senior dealt with a challenge all researchers face — an experiment not getting the expected result.

“I had to deal with the frustration of data not being what I wanted it to be,” Elizabeth said. “I learned a lot from that and from trying to find an explanation for the data.”

She worked in the nutrition department on a project that deals with the connection between macrophage-driven inflammation and obesity.

“Metabolism is composed of so many different mechanisms and there are still many things left to understand,” Elizabeth said. “Being able to work on a project to figure out one of the many unknowns was great.”

A chemistry major earning a biology minor, Elizabeth said she became interested in a research internship after taking Biochemistry I and II lab courses. “At my internship, I enjoyed seeing the concepts I learned in my courses come into action,” said Elizabeth.

The laboratory courses she has taken and the critical thinking skills she’s gained at Meredith prepared her well for the work, and to achieve her career goals.

“My goal is to attend pharmacy school in the future, and I hope this experience will help to make me a competitive candidate,” Elizabeth said. “I’m also considering the option of working in the science industry for a few years before enrolling in pharmacy school, and this internship taught me useful lab skills.”