Student Stories: Ashley Bolden

I got involved with undergraduate research as a freshman. I chose to work with Dr. Ruth MacDonald in the Nutritional Sciences department because her research focused on breast cancer, and this was important to me because my great aunt succumbed to breast cancer. It also fit well with my original career goal of becoming a medical doctor.

I worked with Dr. MacDonald for two years and my responsibilities steadily expanded during that time. My initial tasks involved washing dishes, autoclaving, and processing gels and diets for the studies being conducted in the lab.

I spent my second year mainly researching articles for my first research project "The effects of Cimicifuga Racemosa on pre-pubertal female mice." At times, I felt overwhelmed with the amount of work involved with the project, but upon its completion, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and knew my hard work would pay off tremendously. My first research presentation was on campus during my sophomore year. I later presented as a research ambassador at the Missouri State Capitol rotunda in Jefferson City.

As a junior, I had the opportunity to present my research results in Dallas at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Over 1,000 minority students from universities all over the country attended to present their research and get information about graduate programs. Participants are judged on their ability to answer questions related to their research. Although I didn't receive an award, I decided to use this experience to work harder for the conference next year.

During my junior year, I also switched labs to work with Dr. Cheryl Rosenfeld in Veterinary Biomedicine. I expanded my skills and processed cell cultures, and performed cell proliferation and apoptotic assays.

That summer, I had the opportunity to conduct research at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) with Dr. Coral Lamartiniere, a colleague of Dr. MacDonald, who had previously spoken at a symposium here at MU. I spent eight weeks in Birmingham working on “The estrogenic effects of polyphenols on ovariectomized rats.” In addition to lab work, I took this time to read journal articles and studies related to my research project. My presentation placed second in the Physiology Session at the UAB Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Later that fall, I presented my UAB project at the ABRCMS meeting held in Atlanta. I felt much more confident when the judges posed their questions about my research. As a result, I was one of 85 award recipients out of over 1,000 participants!

When I began as a researcher three years ago, I felt unsuited to be among other undergraduate and graduate research students, but I have proven to myself I can work with the best. Undergraduate research is a great experience and talking with other students who have moved on to accomplish great things has inspired me do the same. I have re-evaluated my career goals and am now focused on becoming a biomedical researcher and going to graduate school. The treatments that medical doctors administer to their patients are a direct result of researchers all over the world who are studying and developing cures for illnesses at a record-breaking pace. With hard work and perseverance, it can be a path that can result in unforgettable experiences that last a lifetime.