Latifa Obaidi knew she wanted to be a doctor before she even set foot on UNL’s campus.
Although she had a good idea of what her future might hold, she still had questions. She couldn’t just start working on patients; she needed a way to gain experience that would guide her in the right direction. Undergraduate research provided that opportunity.
Obaidi, a senior biology and biochemistry double major from Lincoln, learned about Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences (UCARE) from friends who had previously attended UNL. She was immediately interested in getting involved.
She began by identifying faculty members involved in plant genetics research and writing their names on an index card. She started in the basement of the biological sciences building and went to each researcher’s office. Dr. Stacey Smith’s door was the first one open. “It could have worked out totally differently if someone else had been in their office at that time,” Obaidi said.
Obaidi spent two years in Smith’s lab working with species of flowers from South America in the genus Iochroma. Her goal was to compare the rates of evolution of different genes within the flowers.
Even though Obaidi’s interest is in human medicine, she found ways to connect human and plant genetics while working in the lab. “As an undergraduate you kind of just choose something and learn from it. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to do that for the rest of your life.”
Obaidi is so passionate about research that she is now a UCARE ambassador. This position allows her to speak to students about the value of research. She said that research experience is becoming more important in many fields, especially medicine.
“If you can come in with that background, with that experience, I think that gives you an edge. You just understand the process of research and how to go about getting data and recording in your notebook. That type of thing will give you a pretty good advantage.”
Along with undergraduate research, Obaidi is gaining experience in medicine through job shadowing, which has strengthened her desire to become a doctor. “A lot of people think that they just give out prescriptions and medicine and that’s it, but a lot of them help patients regain control of their life and give them hope.”
Shadowing an oncologist led to Obaidi’s interest in cancer research. “When people come in to an oncologist, they realize their life could be on the line at that moment.”
Obaidi also gets firsthand exposure to the medical field by volunteering at the People’s City Mission in Lincoln. At the mission, she observes doctors and interacts with patients, and she said the experience has been eye-opening for her. “You realize that a lot of them worked hard in life, but some bad things happened and they ended up where they are.”
Obaidi said she encourages all students to get involved on campus, whether it’s with a club, an organization or a research lab.
“It helps make you feel like you belong to the university. That’s a pretty good feeling.”
Find out more about UCARE and the available research opportunities at http://www.unl.edu/ucare/. You can also visit your college’s website to find faculty members that are doing research and connect with them.
-by Kathleen Anderson, junior journalism major