Hopkins Students Working for a Cure

Deepak Gupta '18, Business Manager

Recently, juniors Ally Batter, Jake Moscarelli, and Emma Bucklan received summer internships at Yale University’s Discovery to Cure program.

The Discovery to Cure program was established in 2003 with the goal of introducing students to Yale’s biomedical laboratories so that they would consider pursuing a career opportunity in the fields of science and medicine. The program includes 41 schools, both national and international. Over the years, it has progressively become much more competitive and now has an acceptance rate below 12%. Over the course of several weeks, admitted high school students are assigned mentors and spend time participating in a research project about reproductive cancer. At the end, they are required to give a 10-minute presentation to a large audience composed of Yale staff and family members about their research.

On campus, Ally Batter ‘17 is the head of Maroon Key and the editor of the sports section for the Razor. In addition, she is part of the Girls Varsity Tennis, Swim, and Soccer teams. Outside of school, Batter is a registered EMT and works on the Junior Board at Yale New Haven Hospital. She received word of the program through Dr. Elizabeth Jonas from Yale Medical School while doing research in her summer lab at Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole. Batter is excited about being a part of DTC over the summer, saying, “I believe this summer will further my understanding about the the various aspects of performing research.”

Jake Moscarelli ‘17 will also be participating in Discovery to Cure. Moscarelli is a head of Sports for Service and plays on the Boys Varsity Football and Lacrosse teams. He remembers hearing about this prestigious program at Yale from his sister’s friend a few years ago. It sounded like something that would be interesting, so he waited patiently until he was eligible to apply. “I'm looking forward to learning how to work in a real lab, and participating in any kind of cancer research,” Moscarelli commented. “I'm excited because I’ll be working for a great cause and I'll get to learn from some of the best in the field.”

The final Hopkins student that will be a part of Discovery to Cure this summer is Emma Bucklan ‘17. She has is a part of Girls Varsity Fencing, Science Olympiad’s A team, and Underhill. In her free time, Bucklan makes digital art and is an independent youtuber who makes videos for educational videogames. In addition, she is a professional jedi, meaning that she dresses up in a jedi costume and raises money for charity with some of her friends. Bucklan knew that she wanted to do a program over the summer.

After thorough searching, she found Discovery to Cure. “I hope to study reproductive cancer, a disease that affects millions of people, and I look forward to getting to know Jake and Ally,” Bucklan said. “I believe this experience will provide me with knowledge about biology and medicine and will help me decide what career I want to pursue in college.” She also added, “I know that by working hands on with a group of other people who are motivated and as excited to learn as I am, I will be able to build my collaboration skills, my current knowledge of science, and my passion for helping others.”

These three extraordinary students cannot wait to start their biomedical research in the June. As they work with experts in science and medicine at Yale, these members of the Class of 2017 will serve as examples to the Hopkins community of how far dedication and hardwork can take you.

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Hopkins Students Working for a Cure