We are juniors at La Salle College Preparatory and have been active members of the CARLOW Center of Medical Innovation since our freshman year. Our journey here has been filled with exciting opportunities and experiences, and we are currently focusing on conducting our research project for the LA County Science Fair. Coming to the CARLOW center has become a daily ritual for us. It's not just about routine check-ins; it's where we nurture our passion for medical innovation.

Our journey began with taking a number of the PCC Dual Enrollment courses offered, such as Introduction to Health Sciences and Medical Terminology, and we now find ourselves eager to attend the Medical Occupations and Skills Elective course during school, gaining hands-on experience that goes beyond traditional classroom learning. One of the things that keep us coming back to the center every day is the remarkable opportunity to conduct personal research because of the incredible medical equipment available at the CARLOW center. For example, the Biosafety Cabinet, Zoe Fluorescent Cell Imager, TC Automated Cell Counter, and Incubator have become integral to our Tissue Culture Research. They have streamlined our work, allowing us to efficiently test the effects of glucose and fatty acids on primary rat neural cells.

This project is not just an academic pursuit but a chance for us to make a meaningful contribution to understanding how one’s nutrition affects neural development and long-term chronic diseases. Our project involves testing various concentrations of glucose and omega-3 fatty acid Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on primary rat neural cells to see which is the ideal concentration for optimal neural development. The results we gather from immunofluorescence data and the staining patterns will offer insights into how dietary intake levels may correlate with susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Overall, the PCC Dual-Enrollment courses, Skills Labs, and Research we've participated in at the CARLOW Center have been transformative. They've expanded our knowledge and equipped us with practical skills that we apply directly to our research. This unique combination of academic learning and hands-on experience is shaping us into well-rounded leaders ready to contribute to the ever-evolving field of medicine. We are grateful for the resources and many opportunities the CARLOW center provided us during our high school career. This center has been a crucial part of fueling our passions toward a career where we can continue to explore, innovate, and make meaningful contributions to the field of medicine.

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By: Brianna & Lily Balian