Nandini Naidu is a junior and is one of four students in the second cohort of the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Nevada Program. MARC Nevada aims to increase diversity in the fields of biomedical sciences, and it supports students in applying to and transitioning into research-focused higher degree programs, such as a Ph.D., M.D. or M.D.-Ph.D.

“I always knew I wanted to go to college,” Naidu said.

Growing up in California, Naidu said there was an expectation that she would attend a University of California (UC) school but is glad she chose to attend the University of Nevada, Reno.

“I feel like the opportunities provided to me here are greater than if I had attended a UC,” she said.

Naidu is majoring in biology and minoring in public health.

“I came into the University wanting to do an M.D.,” Naidu said.

In her freshman year, Naidu worked in a research lab studying caterpillars and their immune systems and found she enjoyed research and decided she wants to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. after her undergraduate career.

After working in the caterpillar lab for a semester, Naidu reached out to Jason Ludden, director of the Office of Undergraduate Fellowships and Scholarships, to ask about other labs that have a greater focus on the immune system. He recommended she reach out to Maryam Sarmazdeh in the College of Engineering, and Naidu started working in Sarmazdeh’s lab in January 2023. She spent time learning different lab and research techniques and worked on developing her own project in the fall semester.

Sarmazdeh’s lab works on engineering novel protein-based therapeutics based on their natural enzyme inhibitors. Naidu is collaborating with Elham Taheri, a graduate student whose project focuses on investigating the effect of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) in protecting the blood brain barrier. The blood brain barrier serves as the brain’s defense from any foreign materials and is very selective. Sarmazdeh’s students are working on therapeutics for brain cancer and neurodegenerative diseases hoping to construct TIMPs to support and protect the blood brain barrier. The lab is also working on engineering peptides to inhibit migration in glioblastoma, improving transfer within the blood brain barrier and delivery to glioma cells.

In the long term, Naidu wants to work in cancer research. For her, that research would be an opportunity to give back because cancer has affected her family. Her personal experiences with the disease motivated her to seek out a lab working on therapeutics.

Naidu said that undergraduate research has taught her valuable skills for reading research articles and developing and working through lab procedures.

“It has helped me in my biology and organic chemistry labs,” Naidu said.

Balancing research and being a full-time student keeps Naidu busy. In the fall semester, Naidu had six exams or quizzes in one week, and she communicated with her lab to let them know she would be focusing on studying that week.

“My education is my number one priority,” Naidu said.

Naidu added that building a schedule has helped her allocate the time needed to spend in the lab and her schoolwork, on top of some extracurriculars. Naidu is part of the Honors College and serves as secretary of the Honors Student Council, and she works in the tutoring center and helps her peers with biology, chemistry, math, physics and public health work.

The stipend granted to MARC students allowed Naidu to focus on schoolwork rather than pay for housing. She and her sister live together, and part of their housing costs were paid for by the stipend along with daily expenses.

Naidu thanks Ludden and Sarmazdeh for their support.