Raekwon Williams ’20 – Ingenuity student since 9th grade
Middle School: KIPP Baltimore
Research Area: Medicine and Health
Research Topic: Targeting Glutamine Metabolism in M2 Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Prostate Cancer
Q: What do you like to do outside of studying and research?
A: “I’m a tech geek. In my free time, I watch videos about new technology. I also participate in two sports — swimming and lacrosse.”
Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?
A: “Really between middle and high school — that’s when I started investing more of my time reading about science and research on my own.”
Q: When did you know that STEM is something you’d like to pursue as a career?
A: “When I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in 8th grade, I knew I wanted to be involved in medicine.”
Q: Wheat’s your topic of research, and why did you choose it?
A: “I’m working on prostate cancer research. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the U.S.”
Q: Where did you do your research?
A: “At the Department of Oncology at the Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.”
Q: What was the best thing about going off-campus to do research?
A: “My mentor, Dr. Jelani Zarif — he’s really supportive. When I first asked him to be my mentor, he didn’t have a lab, and since then, he’s become an assistant professor. It’s great to network with him at Hopkins, and all of the people I meet in the lab. This summer, I went to events with them — talks, birthday parties — it’s a really good group to bond with outside of the lab. And my mentor is always sharing textbooks and articles about Biochemistry with me.”
Q: What was the hardest part of your research? Any surprises along the way?
A: “It took a little while to adjust, especially to the terminology in the lab. Over time, I understood more and more. My mentor was always giving me reading material, so that helped. And it takes time to figure out how to balance extracurriculars like sports with research.”
