Michael Doane is squeezing every experience he can out of UMass Lowell 鈥� and winning fellowships and scholarships galore while doing it.听
Doane, who left community college in Hayward, Calif., when his mother was diagnosed with cancer, decided to return to college after she died and followed his girlfriend to Massachusetts. He plans to become a cancer researcher.听
鈥淐ancer is a peculiar and fascinating thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淎n accumulation of genetic accidents can cause it, so there are lots of different ways we can try to target it.鈥澛�
He鈥檚 well on his way. The honors student started off majoring in chemical engineering, then added a second major in biology. He also has two minors, in biomedical engineering and math.听
He got a work-study job doing computer modeling with聽Asst. Prof. Seongkyu Yoon聽that turned into an Honors College research fellowship. He has worked with聽biology Professor Matthew Nugent聽on emphysema-related research and with聽chemical engineering Asst. Prof. Prakash Rai聽on nanotherapy in pancreatic cancer, too.听
Those experiences helped him win a summer聽聽at the University of Alabama, where he created a computer simulation of glioblastoma cell clusters for use in drug research. That, in turn, led to his winning a prestigious, $7,500聽聽for students who plan to pursue academic research careers in the sciences.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy I came to UMass Lowell. There鈥檚 an abundance of research opportunities and everything鈥檚 been very progressive here,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are so many different programs and entities that all build on each other and combine to give you anything you鈥檙e willing to get out of your undergraduate experience.鈥澛�
In 2018, he was awarded an Amgen Scholarship to work at CalTech over the summer on more cancer-related research, and he won a Tau Beta Pi scholarship, as well. Doane has also taken advantage of the聽professional co-op program, working at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., testing new equipment and processes for biotechnology research.听
Most recently, he won the 2018 Masergy STEM Collegiate Scholarship, beating out hundreds of applicants from across the country. The Texas company recognized him for his work on an anaerobic biodigester that can convert manure into methane gas and fertilizer in Haiti.听Biodigester-Aided Solutions in Haiti (B.A.S.H.)聽is a team effort that began as a 2015-16聽DifferenceMaker聽project and continues through the university鈥檚聽Haiti Development Studies Center.听
Doane has pursued research related to the biodigester, too, including an internship at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute in California, where he investigated enzymes that can help break down biomass and convert it to biofuel. He continues to work remotely on the project as a research assistant as he applies to Ph.D. programs.
What hasn鈥檛 he done? Study abroad.听
鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to figure out how to fit that in,鈥� he jokes.