Class Of 2022

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School 

 Prior to joining the Hopkins postbac program I attended Wake Forest University and majored in psychology and minored in mathematics. I was a women’s soccer player at Wake and really enjoyed getting involved with the community through service and volunteering opportunities. 

Getting research experience

I would say the best experience I had during the postbac was the opportunity to get involved in research I was passionate about through my medical tutorial. Hopkins is such an amazing place to explore different avenues of research, and allows you to truly find a personalized and niche path.

My medical tutorial was in a basic-science immunology based lab under Dr. Christopher Jackson in the department of neurosurgery. Prior to my medical tutorial, I had no research experience, and am so grateful for Dr. Jackson and his lab members who taught me everything I know. It is the place where I found my passion for research and am so grateful to have been able to explore the mechanistic and immunological basis behind immunosuppression in treatment resistant cancers such as glioblastoma. I ended up spending two more years in the lab after graduating from the postbac to further delve into our projects and see them through. 

A comprehensive cohort

My advice to future students: get into the mindset of taking everything one day at a time. The postbac is challenging but also rewarding. It is really easy to feel overwhelmed, but it is also what brings the cohort together – the postbac is where I met one of my closest friends. There are so many resources that are provided through the program and school that really make everything achievable and set you up for success – and I really do think the rigor of the program has contributed to my ability to adjust to the workload of medical school.