Lara Avsharian
Class of 2021
Education: BS in Micro Biology at Cal Poly Pomona; MS in Biological Sciences at Cal Poly
Biography
Lara is interested in the field of infectious disease and hopes to explore stem cell manipulation as possible methods of future treatment. As a Microbiology undergraduate, she has a strong background in host pathogen interactions, along with bacterial cell physiology and virology. At Cal Poly, she aims to expand her knowledge of stem cell behavior, interaction, and differentiation, along with research technique and stem cell utilization. She strongly believes in the future of personalized medicine and hopes to pursue a PhD, where she will research potential therapeutic options that use bioengineered stem cells to fight infection of specific pathogens.
Lara completed her internship at the Moore’s Cancer Center in the Crews lab, studying cancer stem cells in Multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematological in the United States, with a significant number of patients relapsing and acquiring drug resistance. The Crews lab aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms that contribute to disease progression, as well as how the myeloma cells interact with the bone marrow niche to survive. Lara worked to characterize cell surface markers on malignant plasma cells that may contribute to the self-renewal and survival capabilities of the disease's cancer stem cells. She looked at whether the expression of the cell surface protein contributes to the malignant cell’s activation of stem cell pathways.
