Most summer mornings, Marina Milea walked into the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT ready to juggle several experiments at once. While a set of samples incubated, she stained mouse tissue sections for immunohistochemical analysis, prepared a Western Blot gel, and checked on an organoid culture. All of this was part of the Jacks Lab’s complex workflows for studying how cancer evolves over time. As a rising senior majoring in biology at the City College of New York, she sought exactly this pace through the Bernard S. and Sophie G. Gould MIT Summer Research Program in Biology (BSG‑MSRP‑Bio). "The techniques can be taught; the hardest part is understanding the mouse and organoid models and why we use them. Once you grasp the biology behind the model, you can truly interpret results and think about their relevance to human biology," Milea says. Her project investigates how KRAS‑mutant lung cancers become resistant to targeted therapies by undergoing an adeno‑to‑squamous transition, a histologic shift that makes tumors harder to detect and treat. By dissecting the signaling pathways and protein families that drive this transition, researchers hope to uncover new therapeutic targets for patients whose cancers no longer respond to existing drugs. "I wanted to work on something with translational impact—research that could potentially change how patients receive therapy. That’s incredibly motivating as an undergraduate," she adds. Building a foundation CCNY’s location in New York City fosters collaborations with nearby institutions, giving students diverse laboratory experiences while serving a highly varied student body, including many first‑generation and low‑income students. Milea’s interest in biology began in a UK high school, where she initially pursued medicine but switched to biomedical research after being diagnosed with an understudied health condition, sparking curiosity about disease mechanisms. Before MIT, she gained experience in several labs, most notably in the Azizi and McFaline‑Figueroa labs at Columbia University, where she went from no cell‑culture background to learning CRISPR, T‑cell engineering, and machine‑learning techniques in a single summer. "It was intense, but it gave me confidence that I could thrive in a research environment like MIT’s," she recalls. Learning to think like a scientist At MIT, Milea joined a lab that matched her scientific interests and offered close mentorship from graduate student Carrie Rodriguez. "Carrie genuinely wanted to teach. She explained not only the protocols but the biology behind them, allowing me to contribute my own ideas," Milea says. As weeks passed, Rodriguez entrusted her with increasingly independent work. By the second month, Milea was running entire workflows on her own, truly moving the project forward. Professor Tyler Jacks praised her: "Marina arrived with an outstanding attitude, quickly learned new techniques, and dug deep into lung‑cancer biology. She was a wonderful addition to the lab." Looking ahead Outside the bench, faculty lectures, journal clubs, and conversations broadened her scientific perspective. A talk by MIT Professor David C. Page on sex differences in health reinforced Milea’s long‑term goal of advancing women’s‑health research. "He emphasized pursuing questions you believe are important even if they’re not yet priorities," she notes, adding that the message resonated deeply. After graduation, Milea plans to pursue a PhD in biomedical sciences and build a career that blends research, teaching, and mentorship. Program value Reflecting on her experience, Milea hopes other students will feel confident pursuing opportunities that seem out of reach. "Many people count themselves out without understanding what a program like this looks for—original thinking and tangible contributions," she says. While BSG‑MSRP‑Bio is one of the nation’s premier undergraduate research programs, its commitment to nurturing potential makes it exceptional. "It is both the most competitive and the most open‑access program in the country. International, first‑generation, low‑income, or students from non‑research‑intensive universities can apply, but they must meet high expectations. It’s somehow both, which is great," Milea concludes. Review