My Experience as a Northwestern University CFAAR Ambassador
Earlier this year, I received an email that was sent out to all the teens who attended FARE teen talks. I t was from Dr. Melissa Engel, the moderator of the talks and a psychologist at Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research (CFAAR) at Northwestern University. The email was an invitation to apply to be a CFAAR Ambassador this summer. The program would include talks from diverse speakers and opportunities to learn more about healthcare careers, food allergy research, and more. At the end of the program, we would present on a topic we had been researching throughout the week. I was intrigued. I sent in my application that same day and was accepted by the end of the week.
Finally, last week was the week. My family and I packed our bags and drove the nine-odd hours from Nashville to Chicago. The week was just as exciting and educational as I had hoped. My cohort (of around sixty high school students) heard talks from doctors, researchers, non-profit owners, entrepreneurs, medical and pre-med students, and more! During other times, we worked on career and vocation exploration, toured the medical campus at Northwestern, and worked on our final project. They also had AG-safe food for lunch every day!
I was in a research group that consisted of seven girls. Everybody in that group was super enthusiastic about our project, and most of us had food allergies. We decided to do our research project on the connection between the gut microbiome and food allergy and ways that AI could be used to determine someone’s predisposition to food allergy using samples of their microbiome. It was a super fascinating subject to me and I had a great time researching! Wanting to make sure that Alpha Gal was included in the presentations, I researched and added a slide about Alpha Gal and the gut microbiome. Everything I learned during that research period was so fascinating. Here are our presentation slides in case you are interested in checking them out!
Overall, the CFAAR Ambassador experience is one I would absolutely recommend to any high school student interested in exploring career options or learning more about the science, research, and emotional aspects of food allergy. The entire team at CFAAR was so welcoming and helpful — anyone would answer any question a student had and would spend quality time discussing topics one on one or in a group. Chicago is also such a fun city to explore outside of the time at the program. I can’t wait to see what I am going to take from this program to the rest of high school, college, and beyond!
Me in front of the biomedical research building at the Northwestern medical campus in Chicago, IL
Updating a slide of my presentation while listening to a speaker
My research group and me in front of the CFAAR Ambassadors sign on presentation day