University of New Mexico students Celeste Maldonado Taheri and Anthony Languit recently participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Johns Hopkins University. Their area of study was the pulmonary and critical care medicine program.
This was Languit’s second time returning to the summer program. He said when he received the offer to participate again this summer, he immediately accepted. “That’s mainly the reason I came back, is because of the people like my principal investigator and the grad students,” Languit said. “It was really great. It was a very supportive environment for mentorship.”
Both students spent nine weeks in Baltimore. A highlight for them was the opportunity to shadow in the ICU at the Hopkins Hospital. “Celeste impressed a world-renowned pulmonologist by asking really good questions,” Languit said. “She did a really good job representing us Lobos.”
Maldonado Taheri, who will start in the nuclear medicine program this fall, shared that when she was in her second semester at UNM, she applied to three labs that she was interested in working in. She had two interviews that didn’t end up panning out.
“That honestly deterred me from trying any type of research for a good while. It wasn’t until later that I started looking into maybe more unorthodox research opportunities,” Maldonado Taheri said.
She spoke with a professor about securing a research opportunity, and he sent out her application to everyone he knew. A professor from Auburn University reached out and that’s how she ended up participating in her first research experience.
“It was completely not what I expected at all—it ended up being fantastic. I had a wonderful time working with him,” Maldonado Taheri said. “Putting myself out there is what opened a lot of doors for me.”
Both students were able to leave Baltimore with friends and mentors whom they can still lean on to help guide their budding careers. “Applying for these programs is worth dealing with the rejection,” Maldonado Taheri said. “Then you have to remind yourself that they chose eight students out of close to 1,100 applicants. Remind yourself that you got in for a reason.”
Languit, who is currently applying to medical school, said he encourages students to apply to REU programs for several reasons, two being the fact that it’s financially accessible and allows you to travel.
“On top of that, you get to do extremely impressive research at a young age with these renowned scientists and colleagues there," Languit said. “It helped me grow my technical skills and made me a better researcher. When I came back to UNM this past year, I felt more confident. I think that is reflected in my work.”
