The Pipette Gazette recently had the opportunity to interview, Dr. Xiang “Vicky” Bai, a doctoral student in the Integrated Biomedical Science (IBMS) Graduate Program- Pharmacology Track, working under the mentorship of Dr. Randy Strong. The title of her thesis was, “Mechanisms Underlying Therapeutic Effects of Rapamycin in a Mouse Model of Synucleinopathy”. We asked her three questions.

[PG] What did you learn during your graduate student career?

[Dr. Bai] Enjoying learning something new from my research, critical thinking, dealing with pressure, multitasking, networking.

[PG] What’s next?

[Dr. Bai] I will be joining the lab of Dr. Feany at Harvard Medical School to pursue my postdoctoral training. Her laboratory has created fruit fly models of human neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and a number of less common disorders. The lab uses genetic tools available in Drosophila to identify proteins and cellular pathways controlling the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease.

[PG] Any advice for your fellow graduate students? 

[Dr. Bai] Find good mentors to instruct you and find good friends to hang out with and support you. Figure out what you want, then try your best to achieve it.
Believe in yourself and know that you can make it in order to overcome those who doubt you. Do not discount yourself.