John Majewski’s decision to attend the University of Pittsburgh was sealed when he saw the opportunities for meaningful undergraduate research offered by the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
“I’m very interested in biology and chemistry—the idea that chemistry informs biology,” Majewski (A&S ’21) said. A lot of things we do in biology explain the ‘what’, but chemistry gives us that ‘why’ behind biology.”
Early in his Pitt career, Majewski enrolled in a course focused on neural tube defects. The lab section of the class provided hands-on experience investigating the processes that lead to the development of the brain and spinal cord. Students dissected and performed experiments using Drosophila melanogaster—the fruit fly.
Majewski enjoyed it so much that he spent a summer doing research in the field, which led to him publishing a research manuscript in the journal Biology Open.
“As an undergrad, you read textbooks and papers and it's hard to really understand how they came to be. But, when you do research, you can appreciate it at a greater level than before.” – John Majewski
Majewski says his research experience gave him a new appreciation for how many years of work can go into a single paragraph in a textbook.
The Pitt grad has gone on to Pitt's medical school and continues to carry the lessons learned from his undergraduate research experience.
“I learned a lot from the lab, more than I could have imagined,” said Majewski. “My experience made me want to pursue research in medical school and, potentially, the rest of my life. It's cool to find something that no one else in the world knows. That's what I think is so interesting about research.”