Jinyi (Jinny) Guo

Pronouns: she/her

Current Research Project: I don't currently have a research project since I just joined a new lab. However, for my PhD and future research career, I'm interested in cell, molecular, and cancer biology (cancer immunotherapy) and translational biomedical research. I aspire to investigate and develop novel and cost-effective cancer therapeutics and vaccines. In the past, my research projects have been all over the place -- I've worked with liver cancer cells to test the efficiency of a novel diagnostic method, ovarian cancer cells to investigate a combination therapy, irradiated mice to study stem cell regeneration in the GI system after severe radiation injury, and T cells to study the role of a RNA-binding protein in translation regulation.

How she got involved with research: During the second semester of my freshman year, I joined the Lee Lab in the Department of Radiation Oncology in the School of Medicine after applying through MUSER. I was trained to work with mice and did microscopy and imaging to help with my mentor's project. However, after gradually discovering my passion and interest in more translational biomedical research, particularly in the field of cancer immunology and immunotherapy, I decided to look for a new lab on my own. During my freshman summer, I joined the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapeutics Laboratory led by Dr. Hartman after emailing him. Currently, I'm also on the Bass Connections Team, "Learning From Whales: Oxygen, Ecosystems & Human Health," in the Somarelli Lab after I applied during the second semester of my freshman year.