Frank Veliz
Biochemistry Research Associate
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH USA
“There is a lot of trial and error in science and you need to be able to make adjustments and then optimize the steps that work.”
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
Graduated High School as an honors student and was accepted to UC Irvine
Struggled in undergrad to keep up with the course loads and difficulty of my major. Although I struggled early on, I finished strong by making the Dean's list and graduating in four years.
I wanted to go to med school, but I knew I needed to beef up my application. I volunteered in hospitals and worked in a medical clinic and laboratory in Los Angeles.
I was accepted to a masters program in Medical Physiology at Case Western Reserve University. It was here where I learned that medical research is what interests me instead of med school.
I became a laboratory manager for a biomedical engineering laboratory at CWRU focusing on cancer research and immunotherapies using plant viruses to target and eliminate cancer.
I now work on studying the structure and interaction of proteins with cancer therapies and other proteins to discover or improve upon cancer treatments.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Lancaster High School
Lancaster High School
Career
Biochemistry Research Associate
Cancer Research
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Science
Medicine
Problem Solving
Day to Day
I take advantage of the cell's natural ability to make and package proteins by modifying cells to make high quantities of proteins that could be candidates for cancer therapies. I then release these proteins by breaking up the cells and use different solutions to purify only the proteins I am interested in, ignoring all the anything that the cells would normally make. I then test out these target proteins with different cancer drugs or even other proteins to see what works best.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Volunteer in a laboratory working on research you find interesting during your undergrad. That way you can see if you like the work and lifestyle. Then tailor the rest of your undergrad career to steer towards research. You do not necessarily need more than a bachelors degree to work in research, but it will certainly help further your career.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"Working in the medical sciences as a scientist is a waste of time. You will work long, hard hours for little pay, especially in academia."
Challenges I Overcame
First-Generation Immigrant
