{"id":82337,"date":"2021-11-09T14:24:34","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/?p=82337"},"modified":"2021-11-09T14:44:59","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:44:59","slug":"student-spotlight-elissa-everton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/2021\/11\/09\/student-spotlight-elissa-everton\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Spotlight: Elissa Everton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Despite being a New Jersey native, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) graduate student Elissa Everton has no intention of leaving Boston. \u201cAre you kidding me? This is the powerhouse of biomedical research. Everyone you meet here is involved in something awesome,\u201d Everton said.<\/p>\n

The fifth-year graduate student\u2019s path didn\u2019t always seem so clear; before coming to BUSM, Everton studied biotechnology and biochemistry at Rutgers University and didn\u2019t plan on getting an advanced degree. However, after working for three years in bio remediation, she decided to pursue a PhD. \u201cI realized I definitely needed another degree\u2014I just didn\u2019t know how to get there,\u201d the first generation college student said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know anyone who applied for a PhD [program],\u201d Everton said. She had to navigate applications for doctorate programs by herself, often relying on online forums for advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to my first [interview] weekend and found out that people had applied to 15 schools,\u201d Everton said. \u201cI applied to three.\u201d Regardless, Everton was accepted into BUSM\u2019s graduate program in biomedical sciences and is graduating from the Molecular & Translational Medicine PhD program.<\/p>\n

\"\"Her application experience highlighted the importance of community for students who are the first in their family to attend college. Everton is a mentor for gFIRST<\/a>, a mentorship program for first generation students, and a member of the Tri Alpha chapter of the Newbury Center<\/a>, which provides academic and community resources for first-generation students.<\/p>\n

\n

Student Groups<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Besides her time in first-generation student groups, Everton has been a founding member for several academic clubs, including the BU Biotech Consulting Club<\/a> and the Medical Innovation and Technology<\/a> program.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Everton was inspired to start the club last year after a recruiter told her about the difficulties of learning about and breaking into the life sciences industry. The recruiter wished there was a community at BU to teach students about the industry. At the time, Everton thought, \u201cI could do that.\u201d And she did.<\/p>\n

Everton also cofounded the Medical Innovation and Technology (MInT) entrepreneurship program with fellow graduate student Shen Ning. MInT is an interdisciplinary group that fosters entrepreneurship in the life sciences industry. Last year, several student-led teams in MInT designed new medical devices, receiving $12,000 in funding for their inventions<\/a>. Everton was the first person Ning recruited for the leadership team. \u201cIt was a natural match, the way we work together, the way we communicate\u2014sometimes\u2026we steal the words out of the other person\u2019s mouth,\u201d Ning said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Getting MInT off the ground \u201cwas a whirlwind,\u201d Everton said. \u201cThere was so much excitement around it\u2026we had, I think, 50 people at our first informational meeting.\u201d MInT now has integrated into Nucleate, a nationwide community for bioentrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI attribute a lot of the success of MInT to the team,\u201d said Ning.<\/p>\n

\n

Research<\/strong><\/h4>\n

At BUSM, Everton researches for the Center for Regenerative Medicine<\/a>. Under the supervision of Dr. Valerie Gouon-Evans, Everton is researching the gender differences in Tylenol overdose recoveries. According to research published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety<\/em><\/a>, Tylenol overdose causes more than\u00a050,000 emergency room visits and 400 deaths per year in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Everton\u2019s research grew out of a project studying liver injuries in mice. Everton noticed that male and female mice responded differently to the dosages; eventually, after her research was applied to hormonal treatment studies, the researchers found that growth hormones could be useful in treating Tylenol overdose.<\/p>\n

Everton says she likes working in an area with direct patient impact. \u201cEvery time I tell the story of my research, someone knows someone who has had a Tylenol overdose,\u201d the PhD candidate said. \u201cSo I feel like I have a purpose there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everton is planning to work for Clarion Healthcare, a Seaport-based life sciences consultancy, starting next year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite being a New Jersey native, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) graduate student Elissa Everton has no intention of leaving Boston. \u201cAre you kidding me? This is the powerhouse of biomedical research. Everyone you meet here is involved in something awesome,\u201d Everton said. The fifth-year graduate student\u2019s path didn\u2019t always seem so clear; before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2491,"featured_media":82162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7074,1534],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82337"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82346,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82337\/revisions\/82346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/gms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}