An interdisciplinary research experience<\/p>\n
During the first week of the program, participants learned about available projects and met prospective faculty mentors before being matched with laboratories based on their interests.<\/p>\n
Fernandez joined the research group of Eugenia Kharlampieva, professor of chemistry at UAB. Her project examined the properties of a material used to fabricate hydrogel capsules. Such capsules have potential applications in controlled drug delivery and diagnostic imaging.<\/p>\n
The assignment represented a full-circle moment for Fernandez. As a high school student, she completed a Project Lead the Way capstone project exploring a medical application of hydrogels.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat project sparked my initial interest in interdisciplinary work, so it was surreal to encounter the same concept again years later in an undergraduate research setting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Over 10 weeks, Fernandez completed approximately 400 hours of research at the intersection of chemistry, materials science and biology. She gained experience with polymer and inorganic core synthesis, capsule fabrication and several advanced analytical and imaging techniques.<\/p>\n
In addition to her laboratory work, Fernandez completed a midterm progress report, a research paper, a scientific poster and a three-minute presentation for other participants and mentors. She presented her poster at the UAB Summer Expo at the conclusion of the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were countless opportunities to learn new things and ask questions, but some of the most exhilarating moments came from the challenges we encountered during our hands-on experimentation,\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n
Rather than viewing an unsuccessful experiment as a setback, she learned to treat it as an invitation to investigate further, reconsider assumptions and draw connections between earlier research and the questions in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompleting the 10 weeks and seeing a finished product was incredibly rewarding, but reflecting on all of the experiences and lessons along the way has been the most important part to me,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cThe experience gave me a much better perspective on what research looks like at the graduate level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building a foundation at Penn State Lehigh Valley<\/p>\n
Fernandez credited her Penn State coursework, research opportunities and faculty mentorship with preparing her to contribute in an unfamiliar research environment.<\/p>\n
Before attending UAB, she worked with Ealy on a computational chemistry research project during the spring 2026 semester. A poster based on that work was presented at a regional meeting of the American Chemical Society in Hershey, and Fernandez and Ealy are continuing to work on a manuscript.<\/p>\n
Fernandez remained in frequent contact with Ealy throughout the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was incredibly meaningful to share my experiences with someone who cared deeply about me as a student and as a person, but who also understood the science behind the work I was doing,\u201d Fernandez said.<\/p>\n
She also said she found herself regularly drawing upon concepts from Ealy\u2019s general chemistry courses while working through problems at UAB.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised by how many concepts from her classes resurfaced during my time at UAB and how applicable they became in an entirely different research environment,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cEven when experiments went awry, I often found myself drawing upon concepts I had learned in her lectures to think through solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ealy said Fernandez\u2019s contributions extend well beyond her own academic work. Fernandez has served as a chemistry tutor for two years and is now a teaching assistant in three chemistry laboratories. She also tutors mathematics while completing a full academic schedule that includes two 400-level chemistry courses at Penn State Berks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot say enough about Daniela,\u201d Ealy said. \u201cShe is intelligent, kind and considerate, and her role as a teaching assistant in the chemistry laboratory is invaluable. She is doing a magnificent job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giving other students confidence<\/p>\n
Fernandez said tutoring has given her a strong sense of purpose and an opportunity to extend the encouragement she has received from her own professors and mentors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something really special about helping a student work through a concept they have been struggling with and then watching the \u2018aha\u2019 moment,\u201d she said. \u201cMy goal is to have the student leave a session with a greater sense of their own capability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her work as a teaching assistant has allowed her to support students during hands-on experiments while continuing to learn from Ealy\u2019s approach to teaching and mentorship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been fortunate to have professors and mentors who took the time to encourage me and, most importantly, believe in me,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cThat has made all the difference in my experience and growth throughout these four years. I want to extend that same kindness and consideration to other students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernandez said she hopes her experience encourages other undergraduates to pursue opportunities even when they are uncertain whether they will be selected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only person who can estimate your capacity is you,\u201d she said. \u201cSet the limit to infinity, and you would be surprised how far you can go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An interdisciplinary research experience During the first week of the program, participants learned about available projects and met…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-292335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}