Finding Beauty and Purpose in Nurturing and Studying Living Things
Ever since she was a young child growing up in Denver, Rose Summers has been drawn to living things — whether taking care of plants, observing animals, or culturing cells.
Now pursuing a PhD as a Marshall Scholar and NIH OxCam Scholar at the University of Cambridge, Summers sees her pathway in science as an alignment with her character and her drive to take care of living things. “In the lab, I like to culture cells and I feel satisfied when they grow well and stay healthy,” she explains. “The goal of my research is to contribute to improved care of people so they grow well and stay healthy.”
An Amgen Scholar at Harvard University in 2022, Summers was an undergraduate at CU Boulder who had transferred from community college. Her time conducting research at Harvard exposed her for the first time to the use of human stem cell-derived models of the nervous system. Energized by that line of research, she sought further work on those models, discovering the Potter Lab at CU Anschutz.
In that lab, Summers had the freedom to “conduct an ambitious research project with independence, which is an invaluable experience for an undergraduate, but I was also guided and supported by a caring mentor, Dr. Noah Johnson,” she says. That experience solidified her desire to continue pursuing science in graduate school.
In her current graduate program, Summers will complete half of her PhD at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and half in the Translational Translational Neuroradiology section of the NIH. Her research focuses on characterizing the role of different immune cells in multiple sclerosis using several models, including those she learned about through her Amgen Scholars research. Summers’ hope is to contribute to improved therapies for treating the central nervous system disorder.
Looking back on her time as an Amgen Scholar, Summer vividly remembers taking images of an immunofluorescence experiment with her mentor. “I remember liking the soft dark and the quiet of the microscopy room, which I had never been in before, while we set up the imaging,” she says. “We were both genuinely excited when we saw fluorescent neurons come into focus on the screen. As we pointed out different morphologies of the glowing cells, with one looking like a perfect textbook drawing of a neuron, we had a shared feeling of satisfaction.” Not only did she find the microscopy to be beautiful, she also found immense fulfillment in these relatively rare “pure moments in science.”
Summers also fondly remembers her Scholars cohort and some of the experiences they shared like going to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston together. “The museum itself was otherworldly and serene,” she says. But what really stood out for her were the dynamics of the cohort on that day: “I felt that, although we had known each other for a short time and had quite different lives, we all seemed comfortable with one another.”
Indeed, Summers says that some of the biggest value of the Amgen Scholars Program comes from creating mutually beneficial relationships that will guide a scientific career. “I honestly didn’t understand all of the research I was involved in during my internship, or do all of my assays perfectly, or give a flawless presentation at the end, but none of that has mattered,” she says. “What has mattered in the long term is that I connected with my research mentor and that we’ve stayed in touch. I believe that most success in research depends on communicating and collaborating well with those around you. Although research can seem relatively solitary, it’s based on human connection.”
Working now at the University of Cambridge, Summers is driven by how rapidly the fields of stem cell biology and neuroimmunology are progressing. While it can be challenging to keep up with the pace of change, she is excited to see how her work can become part of something that is larger and more complex.
“On a smaller scale, I appreciate the precision and detail of my wet lab work,” Summers says. “When I can properly maintain my cells and cell-based models, execute my assays, and create something of value from that work I feel fulfilled.”
