Ren Yagawara

When I first arrived at Penn, the only thing I knew about research was that I wanted to do it.  I had never conducted research before, and with my freshman year happening during the height of the pandemic, I wasn’t even sure if conducting research was an option.  After a couple of rejected applications and a long search for a lab, I was fortunate enough to be taken in by the Maillard Lab at Penn Medicine.  I studied the role of Notch signaling in graft-versus-host-disease using mouse models of bone marrow transplantation while learning the basics of wet lab and immunology research.  

I would love to talk about any aspect of my research experience, as getting started can feel daunting at times.  Please feel free to reach out about deciding whether research is something you would want to try, finding research opportunities, or just about anything!

• Maillard Lab, May 2021 - September 2022
• Albelda Lab, September 2022 - Present

Additional groups/interests: Benjamin Franklin Scholars, Mayor's Scholars, Men's Ultimate Frisbee, Road2Research, West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, Japanese Student Association