Name: Rixzelle Romero
Class Year: 2023
Major: Biology
Hometown: West Jordan, UT
Internship Organization: BioFire Defense
Job Title: R&D Intern
Location: Murray, UT
What’s happening at your internship?
I am working as a research and development intern for the biotechnology company BioFire Defense. The company creates medical technology that detects pathogens in DNA. I am interning specifically for the template control team. Template control tests the reagents that are used in BioFire’s medical technology before the products are sent out to clients. Much of these tests include replicating and transcribing RNA, creating unique chemistry mixes, and diluting RNA and DNA samples. BioFire Defense’s products are able to detect respiratory, bloodborne, and intestinal viruses and bacteria from samples.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I am interested in the research side of medicine as well as medical technology and wished to gain more laboratory experience. What caught my eye with BioFire was the fact that their products are able to perform several tests on one sample of DNA in order to determine what pathogen is present in the sample.
This is incredibly important in the advancement of medicine because it is difficult to pinpoint what disease a patient has when so many diseases affect similar biological systems and share the same symptoms. Having to wait on several tests can take weeks long, and leaves patients vulnerable. However, BioFire’s technology can perform many tests at once, which usually take up to an hour. Their technology not only assists health professionals in determining what disease their patient has, but also saves patient lives by catching diseases early on and prescribing proper treatment.
What is most rewarding about your internship?
I was honored to contribute to the work of the company and learn so much about the developmental and research side of medical technology. The people from template control are patient, kind, and intelligent! They made me feel welcomed and gave me a lot of helpful advice regarding work in a laboratory environment and graduate school. I also enjoyed learning about the applications of RNA transcription.
Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
Adjectives: Insightful, friendly, busy
Nouns: Laboratorian, chemist, biologist
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.