Ohio University

Dr. Darlene Berryman. I’ve had her in tutorials, which are one-on-one classes unique to the Honors Tutorial College. With her, I’ve worked on a lot of topics relating to my research. She knows a lot about a lot, and if she doesn’t know, she’s happy to have tutorials where she’s going to learn as well.

I went to the Office of Education Abroad and they were excellent and really helpful. I studied in Odense, Denmark. I took science courses that were offered in English and I spent time working in a lab. I would definitely recommend studying abroad; it’s a really great way to use the resources that OHIO has to see the world and do something productive.

It combines all the benefits of a big university with all the benefits of a smaller university. Professors really want to know who you are, but at the same time, there are so many opportunities.

 

I’ve presented research at national conferences. The biggest name in aging research has come up to me and said, “I think your research is really good."

OHIO has a lot of unique resources that I’ve utilized a lot. One of them is Alden Library. Libraries are supposed to be boring, but Alden’s not that way. They have tons of books and online subscriptions. Ping is a great workout facility. The Outdoor Pursuits program is really nice. They organize trips to go rock climbing and hiking and camping. The Edison Biotechnology Institute, material wise, is really great because the lab is pretty well funded. Any instrument I can think of wanting, EBI has or an EBI collaborator has.

The research I’m doing here is at the Edison Biotechnology Institute. My specific work has been on adiponectin, which is a protein that is secreted by fat in all animals. The less fat you have, the more adiponectin you produce. It’s correlated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, old-age related diseases, and so it’s of therapeutic interest right now to a lot of people as a possible treatment to age-related diseases and obesity-related diseases. It’s quite a hot topic on the national and world stage right now.

Take opportunities that present themselves, but don’t get involved in everything and think you have to stay involved in everything. Try something here and there and then pick the ones that really mean something to you. I’m on the OHIO women’s crew team, which was an excellent choice. You have to get up at 5 a.m., but it’s worth it when you get to see the sun rise with your best friends every morning.