About Me

My name is Lovette Azap, and I am a fourth year Biochemistry major at The Ohio State University. I am a scholar in the Health Sciences Scholars program as well as the Morrill Scholars program.

During my freshman year, I received the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program Grant to research in the Mitton-Fry laboratory in the department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy in The Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy. My research project in this lab was published in 2019 by the American Chemical Society. Throughout the years, I have presented my research at the College of Pharmacy’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Presentations, the Autumn Undergraduate Research Festival, and was selected to present at the 2020 Harvard New England Science Symposium.

During my sophomore year, I engaged in many educational experiences abroad. I was selected for the Zambia Culture and Society study abroad experience. I was selected to receive the Gilman International Scholarship to fund this experience. During this experience, I was able to increase my cross-cultural communication skills and cultural competency by immersing into the Zambian culture. Upon speaking to many students during this time, I gained valuable insight on the gaps to attaining education and adequate medical attention in Zambia. This sparked my interest in working to increase access to the healthcare system for underprivileged populations.

During Summer 2019, I was competitively selected by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Germany Research Program. I researched at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research in Saarbrucken, Germany for three months to research the synthesis of carbohydrate derivatives in the inhibition of Lectin A and B to combat Pseudomonas Aeruginosa in Antibiotic Resistance. I was also competitively selected to present at the 2019 Research in Science and Engineering (RISE) Conference.

RISE Treffen in Heidelberg 2019

Throughout my collegiate experience, I have held the roles of a visiting researcher, shadowing student, and volunteer at the Cleveland Clinic Minority Mens’ Health Center. Here, my passion for serving underserved and low-income communities blossomed. I have worked on many research projects that centered around analyzing the socioeconomic factors that influence the patient to caregiver relationship. In addition, I have also volunteered at the Minority Mens’ Health Fair to provide patients with necessary information to increase their health literacy. Lastly, I have volunteered in many departments of Cleveland Clinic and shadowed in over 30 different surgeries in fields of Urology, Cardiovascular, and Neurosurgery.

 

Year in Review

Throughout my first year, I have learned a lot about the person that I am. I learned that I love to create and portray my voice in a powerful way that matters, which is why I have really enjoyed being on the Newsletter team for Morrill Scholars. I also learned that I love the process of being a leader in may situations and eliciting change first hand, which is where my roles as Social Chair of African Youth League, Service Chair of Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity, and Service committee of Health Sciences Scholars comes into play. I also discovered I love the process of problem solving and learning new things, which is why I joined my lab, which I love a lot. Overall, my first year went really well and it was a true test of my ability to Time manage. Next year, I hope that I continue to be involved meanwhile succeeding in school.

G.O.A.L.S.

G: Global Impact

Global Impact is very important to me as my future career heavily relies on my passion to make a change in the world. During my sophomore year, I was accepted into a study abroad course to Zambia throughout May 2019. During this trip, I have had the chance to learn more about the culture and society of the region. My favorite part about this experience thus far is when we visited an elementary class. The children has so much intelligence and passion to be something greater, and this increased my desire to travel back one day.

O: Original Inquiry

Original Inquiry is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart as research has become a very large part of my collegiate experience. My first year of college, I joined the Mitton-Fry research lab. Within this lab, I was able to develop an abundance of laboratory skills as it relates to organic synthesis within the field of Medicinal Chemistry. I have done two presentations of my work with the Mitton-Fry lab at the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the Autumn Research Festival. This summer, I was accepted into a research position in Germany where I will join a research lab working in the field of medicinal chemistry.

A: Interview

The interview I had was with my sister. This interview was important to me because she is going to be applying to medical schools, which is an important note because I aspire to attend medical school. Our interview was great because she informed me of all the possible involvements I could have on campus to make my presence known. She also gave me a key insight into the application process and how to choose medical schools. Lastly, as we are two pre-med students she gave me advice into the classes she took throughout her past three years as well as the classes she took to prepare for the MCAT.

S: Service Hours

The James – 60. 1 hours (Locations: Emergency Department, Surgical Floor, Thoracic Oncology Clinic)

Phi Delta Epsilon Bake Sale – 4 hours

PhiDE Blanket Tying – 3 hours

MLK Day of Service – 5 hours

HSS Relay For Life – 3 hours

AYL Service Project – 4 hours

AYL Cosi Service – 3 hours

Honors and Scholars Ambassador – 15 hours

Morrill Scholars – 5 hours

Artifacts

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