I am Myka R. Ababon, currently working on my PhD in the Cell and Developmental Biology Program at Rutgers. Outside the lab, my interests lie in music and physical activities. I play sports and I train capoeira, a Brazilian art that incorporates aspects of martial arts and dance. I also love music and playing the guitar and various capoeira musical instruments. I was born and raised in Davao City, in the southern part of the Philippines. Having two medical doctors for parents, I was exposed to science at a very early age. Back then, I thought that I would proceed to medical school after college and become a doctor like my parents. However, the first time I was introduced to molecular biology was in high school and since then I have been certain that doing research in molecular biology is what I wanted to do. The University of the Philippines Diliman was the only school that offered an undergraduate program for Molecular Biology, and so I applied, and was accepted into the university on a full scholarship from the Department of Science and Technology, awarded to incoming college freshmen pursuing a course in STEM fields. During college, my general interest began to focus on specific fields, and I realized what fascinates me most is developmental biology, especially neural development. I did both BS and MS theses with Dr. Cynthia Saloma, a great mentor from whom I received technical skills and a passionate approach to science; being in her lab allowed me to work on a great variety of research projects, from isolation of chromoproteins from marine soft corals as potential reporters to investigating the cytotoxic effects and biodistribution of nanoparticles and their potential role in drug delivery and cancer therapy. My love for research work led me to volunteer for and facilitate seminars on scientific techniques to high school and college educators in order to keep them updated on current scientific advances. I decided to continue my post-graduate education at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and I am now a 5th year PhD student working in the lab of Dr. James Millonig, doing exciting work on the therapeutic potential of adult neural stem cells in a rodent model of traumatic brain injury. Like my previous experience, I was lucky enough to work on multiple projects aside from my own thesis work, including the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders, and this has led to several middle author publications. I have been very fortunate in my mentors, with Dr. Saloma and now with Dr. Millonig. In the time I have been in his lab, I received extensive training from him, not only on laboratory techniques, but also on communication skills and analytical thinking. His attitude sets a very good working atmosphere and has provided the optimal environment for me to receive invaluable training, and eventually develop into a capable and effective scientist. My career goal is to go into translational research, particularly on the therapeutic use of stem cells for CNS disorders and injuries.
iJOBS Blog