Donaysia Torbit ’20 – Ingenuity student since 6th grade
Middle School: Mount Royal Elementary/Middle
Research Area: Medicine and Health
Research Topic: The Underlying Factors that Influence Pulmonary Hypertension
Q: What do you like to do outside of studying and research?
A: “I play saxophone and I’m in the marching band. My favorite pieces to play are upbeat, pop songs. I want to continue to play in college.”
Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?
A: “7th grade Biology. That class really sparked my interest — I really liked Biology, and from there I liked Physics and Chemistry, too.”
Q: What’s your topic of research, and why did you choose it?
A: “Now it is the causes and effects of pulmonary hypertension. But I didn’t start with that. I started with genetics. After reading more, I realized that this was what I wanted to do. It’s great to be able to have this experience now so I can understand all of my options and the different types of biomedical engineering. I know that I definitely want to go into engineering for a career, and this research opened my eyes about the different paths.”
Q: Where did you do your research?
A: “At the Institute for Nanobiotechnology at Johns Hopkins University. My supervisor was Dr. Sharon Gerecht and my mentor was Eugenia Volkova.”
Q: What was the hardest part of doing research?
A: “For me, it was the terminology in the lab. I had to ask a lot of questions until I understood the lingo.”
Thank you for sharing your experience! My 5th grade daughter loves math and especially the sciences and is considering applying to the Ingenuity Project. Your testimonial made my day. Keep up the tremendous effort!