{"id":14458,"date":"2020-03-31T22:00:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T02:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?page_id=14458"},"modified":"2021-07-31T15:20:36","modified_gmt":"2021-07-31T19:20:36","slug":"profile-emily-orourke","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/undergraduate\/why-biology\/undergraduate-testimonials\/profile-emily-orourke\/","title":{"rendered":"Profile: Emily O’Rourke"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Three
O\u2019Rourke and classmates wearing cloths gifted from traditional healers in KwaZulu-Natal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Global perspectives on microscopic pathogens<\/strong><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Junior Emily O\u2019Rourke traveled to South Africa to investigate epidemics and returned with a broader outlook on her fundamental disease research.<\/h3>\n

Raleigh McElvery<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Growing up in El Paso, Texas near the border of the U.S. and Mexico, Emily O\u2019Rourke could venture across cultures in less time than it takes most people to commute to work. In fact, her dad would make this short trip each day for his job as a mechanical engineer. Watching him cross over so frequently reminded O\u2019Rourke that \u201cideas and skills don\u2019t stop at the border.\u201d O\u2019Rourke herself would visit Mexico to see relatives, and these experiences seeded aspirations to spearhead international scientific collaborations. Now a junior in Course 7 (Biology), O\u2019Rourke is continuing to add stamps to her passport while exploring the global implications of disease research.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Rourke chose MIT because it offered a particularly wide array of study abroad programs, in addition to having top-tier research opportunities. One such study abroad program, MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives<\/a> (MISTI), operates 25 regional programs, matching undergraduate and graduate students with fully-funded internship, research, and teaching opportunities in over 40 countries. The summer after her first year, O\u2019Rourke participated in MISTI’s MIT-Italy Program<\/a> in order to gain some research experience in the realm of urban planning. For six weeks, she investigated the urban effects of sea level rise while living in Venice.<\/p>\n

When she returned to campus for her sophomore year, O\u2019Rourke was intending to double major in physics and biology. But she ultimately opted to drop physics and pursue the life sciences once she started working in Becky Lamason<\/a>\u2019s lab in the Department of Biology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to see how biology worked on a practical level,\u201d she says. \u201cI get to experience a hands-on connection by running DNA on a gel and doing other experiments. During our weekly lab meetings, I witness scientific stories as they unfold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
O\u2019Rourke with a traditional healer and certified HIV counselor working with the iTEACH program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Lamason lab investigates how parasites hijack host cells processes in order to spread infection. O\u2019Rourke is working with graduate student Cassandra Vondrak to probe the proteins that allow the tick-borne Rickettsia parkeri<\/em> to migrate from one cell to the next. Their protein of interest, surface cell antigen 4 (Sca4), is secreted by the bacterium and binds to the host\u2019s cell membrane, reducing the tension across the membrane and allowing Rickettsia<\/em> to punch through to the neighboring cell. O\u2019Rourke and Vondrak aim to determine how Rickettsia<\/em> releases Sca4, in the hopes of piecing together a general mechanism by which pathogens propagate.<\/p>\n

More recently, the duo has begun to examine how Sca4 may coopt another protein in the host cell, known as clathrin, for its own malicious means. \u201cSca4 is a really big protein and we still don\u2019t know its entire structure,\u201d O\u2019Rourke says, \u201cand we\u2019re hoping to uncover some new functions.\u201d<\/p>\n

While O\u2019Rourke was studying infectious disease on a cellular level, she heard about an opportunity to explore epidemics on a global scale. Each January, the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology sponsors a two-week class in South Africa called Evolution of an Epidemic. The class, taught by Professor of the Practice Bruce Walker<\/a>, covers the medical, scientific, and political responses to new diseases, focusing on the HIV\/AIDS epidemic. Walker, who is also the director of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, is a world leader in the study of immune control and evasion in HIV infection. Since then, he\u2019s developed strong connections and research partnerships in South Africa where the disease is most prevalent.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Rourke enrolled in Evolution of an Epidemic, and MISTI helped her to plan her trip. On January 16, she landed in Johannesburg, the first of three destinations. The cohort of students from MIT, Harvard, and the African Leadership Academy attended lectures, spoke with patients, and met medical professionals.<\/p>\n

After Johannesburg, the class traveled to Durban where they visited traditional healers who were learning to administer HIV\/AIDS tests as part of the iTeach program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the chance to ask these healers how they felt about interacting with Western medicine, and whether it clashed with their traditional values,\u201d O\u2019Rourke says. \u201cThey said HIV was so new that they couldn\u2019t draw upon ancient wisdom from their ancestors to treat it. They were directing patients towards Western treatments because they\u2019d seen the devastation the disease could cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"iTeach
The iTEACH Program located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At their third and final destination, the province of KwaZulu-Natal, O\u2019Rourke toured the FRESH Program<\/a>. Twice a week, as part of a clinical trial, healthy African women around O\u2019Rourke\u2019s age attend classes that address topics like self-esteem, gender-based violence, HIV prevention, career development, and computer training. Before each session, the women are tested for HIV\/AIDS, so if they contract it the researchers can treat it early and learn more about the disease\u2019s initial stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really liked going there because it helped me see a direct connection between science and social good,\u201d O\u2019Rourke says. \u201cIt showed the value of talking to patients and asking about their experiences, rather than just looking at study outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

After two weeks, O\u2019Rourke returned to MIT Biology and the Lamason lab with a broader outlook on her parasite research. \u201cI\u2019m able to see how my works fits into a larger context,\u201d she says, \u201cand how it may eventually have far-reaching impacts on disease evolution and spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Rourke still plans to pursue fundamental biological research, but intends to seek out international collaborations focused on global health as well. It\u2019s hard to leave the MIT bubble, she says, but it\u2019s worth it. \u201cTraveling can really broaden your perspective as a scientist, and inform your research in unexpected ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos courtesy of Emily O’Rourke
\nPosted 4.1.20<\/h5>\n

Why Biology?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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