After assisting in scientific research over the summer at UT Southwestern, senior Lauren Thornton presented her research to students and faculty members on Sept. 26 in the PAC.

“I worked in the department of Pharmacology and we studied a disease called Congenital Generalized Lipodystrophy,” Thornton said. “These patients’ bodies aren’t able to produce effective fat tissue. People with this disease often have diabetes and they have lower life expectancies.”

Thornton had to take a daily train ride in order to conduct her research at UT Southwestern.

“Lab life was very interesting,” she said. “You came when you want but left when you were done. I usually stayed there from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.”

She had no prior knowledge about the research topic.

“My first two weeks was just reading papers and understanding what I was doing,” she said. “You study a bunch of research papers that look like they were written in Gaelic, and you’re looking up every other word. Wikipedia was my best friend.”

Thornton was in AP Biology last year.

“The reading level was not English,” she said. “Literally every other word you did not understand, so being in AP classes where you don’t fully understand everything prepared me for that.”

She said that she hopes her research could lead to a cure in the future.

“We’re not at that point yet, because we are still trying to understand how the protein functions and why it’s important,” Thornton said. “Once we figure out how it functions we can move on to different applications.”

The summer program was a great opportunity, Thornton said.

“I encourage anyone who is interested in a career in science, whether it’s in becoming a researcher, an engineer or a doctor, to apply for this opportunity,” she said. “It was truly (an) amazing experience.”