This article is the first in a new series on the summer experiences of our undergraduate majors. In the coming weeks we will feature brief stories from undergraduate Chemistry and Biochemistry majors who worked in unique research and internship positions.

From undergraduate Chemistry major Mariah Castillo,

This summer I worked in the Biologics Analytical Research and Development (B-AR&D) department at Merck. Here, I assisted in exploring the use of a Hybrid Activity-ELISA based assay for polysorbate degrading enzymes (PSDE) activity detection. I learned multiple skills, both professional development based and in the lab. During my time at Merck I got to improve my pipetting skills, learned multiple assays, understand the pipeline and process for drug development, and connect with scientists in multiple fields, not just analytical chemistry.