Connecting to Change the Future: My Journey as a Patient Scientist

This past Monday was International Mastocytosis and Mast Cell Diseases Awareness Day, a time to raise awareness, share knowledge, and celebrate connection within both science and health communities. The theme, “Connecting to Change the Future. Our Future,” deeply resonates with me and my own journey. Learn more about this initiative at The Mast Cell Disease Society.

Mast Cell Disease Society Awareness Day Logo

I am sharing this a little later than planned because I wanted to take time to reflect. Each year I think about sharing my story, and each year I pause, unsure how to capture an experience that is both deeply personal and deeply scientific.

Illustration of an Activated Mast Cell

As I near the completion of my undergraduate degree, I can see how much my path has been shaped by curiosity, persistence, and especially the role of mast cells. These cells have influenced not only my scientific focus but also how I think about perseverance, connection, and purpose in research.

Since living with an understudied condition, I have always found myself asking questions with no clear answers. That curiosity has driven me to search for them, not only for myself but for others who share similar experiences. My journey as someone pursuing college while navigating many barriers has also given me the determination and perseverance that research demands. It has taught me that success in science is not only about skill, but about patience, creativity, and the courage to keep asking questions when the answers are not yet known.

Finding Direction

When I transferred to my current college, I reached out to professors whose work inspired me. I emailed several, hoping to learn more about ongoing research and opportunities to get involved. Most did not reply, but one encouraged me to reconnect once I had settled on campus.

Later that semester, when a planned summer position unexpectedly fell through, I reached out again. By that point, most research positions and funding had already been finalized, yet I was offered a chance to assist in the biology department that summer. It was a small role at first, but it became one of the most formative experiences of my college journey.

@EJLabAndLife Instagram Post

When Opportunity Meets Mentorship

That summer taught me the importance of communication, adaptability, and trust in academic spaces. I was encouraged to approach science not just as a list of procedures but as a human process. One that requires compassion, creativity, and collaboration as much as rigor and precision.

When I shared my personal journey and why I was deeply committed to studying mast cells, my mentor simply said, “Let’s try.” Those two words changed everything.

Academic Research Poster & Award on Mast Cells

Building Something from Nothing

We began with curiosity and determination. We read papers, contacted labs, and designed a plan. Without funding for an existing cell line, we explored how to culture mast cells from bone marrow. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I was driven by the meaningfulness of the project. I kept showing up, kept learning, and kept experimenting. Even before we had any physical cells to study.

Progress was slow and uncertain, but eventually, it worked.

Presentation on chronic illness and data science in shaping my research

Together we developed the first in vitro mast cell model at my college. For the first time, I could study these remarkable cells in a way that connected scientific exploration with personal purpose. It showed me that science can be deeply human. That the questions we ask can come from lived experience and a desire to make a difference.

Looking Forward

This project began as a small idea but has grown into something that reflects the power of perseverance, mentorship, and student-driven discovery. It represents how curiosity and collaboration can turn uncertainty into innovation.

As I prepare to graduate, I am also preparing to pass this research on to another emerging patient-scientist. I hope they continue to build on what we started, ask new questions, and find the same sense of purpose and hope that I found through this work, but more importantly, the journey.

Continuing the Journey

Soon, I will be heading to graduate school, where I plan to keep exploring the biological systems that have long captured my curiosity through lived experience. I do not know exactly where this path will lead, but I know that connection, persistence, and compassion have already shaped my future.

Sometimes the smallest opportunities. A single conversation. A “let’s try,” can change everything.