Raekwon Williams ’20 – Ingenuity student since 9th grade
Middle School: KIPP Baltimore
Research Area: Medicine and Health
Research Topic: Targeting Glutamine Metabolism in M2 Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Prostate Cancer
Q: What do you like to do outside of studying and research?
A: “I’m a tech geek. In my free time, I watch videos about new technology. I also participate in two sports — swimming and lacrosse.”
Q: When did your interest in STEM begin?
A: “Really between middle and high school — that’s when I started investing more of my time reading about science and research on my own.”
Q: When did you know that STEM is something you’d like to pursue as a career?
A: “When I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in 8th grade, I knew I wanted to be involved in medicine.”
Q: Wheat’s your topic of research, and why did you choose it?
A: “I’m working on prostate cancer research. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the U.S.”
Q: Where did you do your research?
A: “At the Department of Oncology at the Bloomberg Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.”
Q: What was the best thing about going off-campus to do research?
A: “My mentor, Dr. Jelani Zarif — he’s really supportive. When I first asked him to be my mentor, he didn’t have a lab, and since then, he’s become an assistant professor. It’s great to network with him at Hopkins, and all of the people I meet in the lab. This summer, I went to events with them — talks, birthday parties — it’s a really good group to bond with outside of the lab. And my mentor is always sharing textbooks and articles about Biochemistry with me.”
Q: What was the hardest part of your research? Any surprises along the way?
A: “It took a little while to adjust, especially to the terminology in the lab. Over time, I understood more and more. My mentor was always giving me reading material, so that helped. And it takes time to figure out how to balance extracurriculars like sports with research.”
Thanks for sharing your experience with the Ingenuity Project! Keep up the great work and keep making our City proud!
I enjoyed reading about what you did on your research and how you went about getting your research. My 12 Year old daughter is in ingenuity and I want her to be the best that she can be at researching and understanding and liking and loving what she does. Keep up the great work you are a mentor within yourself.
Sky’s the limit for you.
Keep reaching for the TOP.