On the Pre-Med Track: Honors Student Joins MUSC Research Lab

^{Above: Chayse Nunciato and Leonardo Ferreira}

Chayse Nunciato came to the College on a pre-med track. Along with her appreciation of the campus and small class sizes, she valued the proximity to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) – just a 10-minute walk away.

Nunciato fell in love with the medical field when her dad, a medical sales rep, came home in scrubs and shared details about the surgeries he attended. In middle school, she learned the value of medical care firsthand when she was diagnosed with scoliosis of the spine and had to wear a back brace for a few years, but it was the medical team that really stood out to her.

“They were so helpful,” says Nunciato, who attended the Downingtown STEM Academy, an excellent proving ground for her chosen field. “I want to help patients like they helped me.”

Into the Lab

In her first year as a biology major and Spanish minor at the Honors College, Nunciato attended the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences research matchmaking event. She thought she would check it out and apply the following year, but then she met Leonardo Ferreira, assistant professor of pharmacology and immunology at MUSC.

Ferreira, who has a doctorate in biochemistry from Harvard University, shared details about his research designing and developing immune cell therapies for autoimmune disease, cancer and aging. His research piqued Nunciato’s interest, and she followed up. After touring the Ferreira Lab, she joined the team as an unpaid research assistant. In her sophomore year, the lab obtained a grant with a scholarship for an undergraduate, which was awarded to her.  

“It has been excellent having Chayse working in the laboratory,” says Ferreira. “She works closely with Dr. Avik Chattopadhyay, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab, at the bench and attends our weekly lab meetings. 

“Chayse is dedicated, reliable, a pleasure to work with and always eager to learn and help,” he adds. “The projects she is involved with involve genetically engineering novel immune cellular therapies to combat solid tumors, the deadliest and most common form of cancer. We look forward to continuing working with Chayse in the laboratory.”

Her dedication and hard work in the lab paid off, leading to a unique scholarship opportunity.

“Chayse is a recipient of the inaugural Donaldson Trust scholarship after being selected from among several candidates applying for the opportunity to do research in my laboratory,” Ferreira says. “This scholarship was created after College of Charleston’s President Andrew T. Hsu visited my laboratory and others at the Hollings Cancer Center and is part of an initiative to increase the participation of College of Charleston undergraduates in research in labs at MUSC.”

Looking Ahead

Nunciato was honored to receive the scholarship. “I hadn’t expected to be paid as a research assistant, but it is quite an honor to be valued by the lab,” says the sophomore. “I’ve really enjoyed learning about the process behind what doctors are explaining to patients. I think it’s important for patient-facing doctors to understand what’s happening behind the scenes.”

Nunciato’s research experience and lab work at the College confirmed her desire to work in a patient-facing role. While home one summer, she shadowed a surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, but she plans to start shadowing doctors on the patient-facing side at MUSC.

As a pre-med student, Nunciato is grateful for Edie Hering, the director of preprofessional health advising. Hering meets with her to ensure she takes the right classes and extracurricular activities. She’s learned from Hering that she needs more shadowing hours, which she has well in hand.

She will seek to participate in Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED), the national health preprofessional honor society. After two more semesters, Nunciato can be inducted into AED, but she has already met a lot of medical professionals, heard guest speakers and participated in volunteer work.

Academic Support

Organic chemistry proved to be the most overwhelming of the pre-med required courses for Nunciato. In fact, she withdrew from the class the first time she took it.

“For many students, organic chemistry is something completely new, and they often find it difficult,” explains Martin Kociolek, visiting associate professor for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “To be successful, they can’t rely solely on memorization. It requires learning the vocabulary, basic fundamentals and rules of organic chemistry, then practice applying them in different contexts. As the instructor, I have to not only present the content, but often help them develop new skills and approaches to learning it. This can take a lot of work on the student’s part.”

When Nunciato decided to enroll again, she took Kociolek’s course.

“Chayse always had the willingness to work hard, be persistent, ask questions and adapt her approach to learning in order to do well in the class,” he says. “All qualities that I know will make her successful in whatever she chooses to do beyond the College of Charleston.”

For Nunciato, Kociolek was a godsend.

“I really struggled, and Dr. Kociolek was supportive and helpful,” she says. “He taught me the importance of understanding the concepts before the problem. He was always around to help, and I attended the extra class he held on Fridays to work on practice problems. If I hadn’t attended the Friday classes, I know I wouldn’t have done as well.”

Giving Back

Tackling challenging courses and taking advantage of the College’s relationship with MUSC takes up much of her day, but Nunciato also wants to give back to the College. She serves on the Honors College Dean’s Advisory Council, where she shares her perspective as a student on initiatives, policies and decisions. In her role, she participated in the Honors College Advisory Board as a member of the Strategic Partnership Committee and helped launch the Honors Ignite Student Professional Development Day.

“The students on the Honors College Dean’s Advisory Council provide me with invaluable insight into where we are currently hitting the mark and where there is opportunity for improvement in real time,” says Honors College Dean Beth Meyer-Bernstein. “We can discuss issues that unexpectedly come up, and I don’t have to wait until the senior survey goes out to get their perspective and to make positive change.”

Nunciato is also a member of Charleston 40, the College’s tour guide program, where she shares her experiences as a pre-med student and her study abroad program in Seville, Spain. She has also given tours of the Ferreira Lab.

With her experiences and dedication to giving back to her community, the medical field and Nunciato’s future patients will be very fortunate to have her.