Curiosity Killed the Cat…Or Did It?
June 21, 2025
Hello everyone! My name is Mahogony Collins and I am a rising Junior at the University of Delaware. I am currently an Honors Molecular Biology and Biotechnology major who plans to work in pharmaceutical development after undergrad. On campus I am a new initiate of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, an Honors College teaching fellow, founding member and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Chair of UD’s first biotechnology club.
My journey to research stems from my sincere interest in understanding how things work. By things I mean anything! From the switch in the refrigerator that turns the light on and off to how water can put out a fire. My curiosity translated well from adolescence to young adulthood as I found myself taking many honors classes regardless of if they related to my major or not. Research, however, was never a possibility I knew about until my second semester when I started meeting other freshmen who already had extensive research experience. Coming from a low-income community in Philadelphia, I had limited knowledge about college in general, let alone careers available after college such as research. Being able to connect with other motivated students led me to my first internship and now the Empower Fellowship at Fox Chase. After attending Discovery Day, my heart was set on a summer at Fox Chase and by God’s unwavering grace I made it here today!
And so far, my curiosity has only expanded! I am working under PhD student Xinpei Jiang in Dr. Israel Cañadas’ lab. The central focus of their lab is finding therapeutic solutions through evaluating innate tumor immune signaling of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). My summer project focuses on the relationship between aging and metastasis of SCLC. Cancer is known as a disease of the aged, but can it also relate back to metastasis of aggressive cancers such as SCLC? This summer I plan to dig deeper and further my understanding of cancer metastasis as well as actively contribute to a laboratory-based work environment. Additionally, I also plan to explore a multitude of careers in the world of science. Lastly, I hope to forage new connections not only between the other Empower Fellows, but also throughout the amazing program faculty. To new beginnings!
Making My Way Through…
July 10, 2025
Coming into the program I thought that I would just be learning a bunch of lab techniques and reading papers for one specific project. Boy was I wrong! Xinpei, my mentor, has pushed me to unimaginable heights - understanding concepts and ideas in such a short time span was not on my prediction list. Although not what I was expecting, I have been starting to adapt to the expectations set for me. I had to rewrite my abstract close to 7 times, and I still have not perfected it. Learning the laboratory techniques was the easiest part for me - being in the lab frequently during high school and college prepared me well. Learning how to think like a scientist was the hard part. I regularly found myself lost within papers, trying to understand the rationale behind experiments and piecing together the experimental designs. At first I thought being a beginner scientist meant making a lot of mistakes and learning to correct them. I now understand that being a scientist in general means making mistakes but also being willing to find new approaches to the same problems. Through my mistakes I have learned to persevere through the disappointments of not understanding. Now that I’m halfway through I have gained the confidence to challenge my understanding and I’m still planning to learn new techniques!
Aside from the science, I have been able to explore the city and make memories with friends throughout the summer. Going to soccer games, brunch with friends and celebrating birthdays has been a great relief from the stress of work! Being able to navigate on public transportation is a privilege I’ve taken for granted back on campus. Although the weather has been rainy, I’m still enjoying being outdoors away from the four walls of the lab. As an honors STEM major, I’ve recently been working on finding hobbies outside of work and this summer has been so influential in helping me work towards that goal. Love Island with the girls has been another big highlight to the summer! As a girl who does not watch television, I am definitely leaving my comfort zone.
I am proud of my progress throughout the summer so far. Although, I’m only halfway through I’ve experienced so much and taken my understanding farther than I ever imagined! I am so excited to see where the rest of the summer takes me.
On to the Next
August 10, 2025
It is hard to believe that 10 weeks could fly by so fast, but we somehow have already reached the end! Coming into the Empower Fellowship, I had varying expectations of what type of mentorship I would receive, what type of project I would hold, how I would get along with the other Empower Fellows and so much more. Now that I’ve reached the end I can say I was blessed to be able to experience a community so tight-knit, with knowledge and expertise from around the world. The people here make the experience so much more fulfilling than I expected. I was met with honesty, sometimes harsher than I anticipated but also kindness and genuine care about me and my future.
Most of my time was spent in the lab learning various techniques from western blots to creating a lentivirus. I was able to put my hands to use and perform a lot of experiments on my own while also taking the time to learn valuable aspects of scientific research. I also got to spend so much time thinking about my future career! I realized that life does not always go according to plan, and sometimes a shift is needed. Talking to different postdocs and grad students helped me see that life can take you anywhere, and to embrace change and the unknown. 
Spending time with the other 11 girls showed me that even though we’re all from different backgrounds, lifestyles and cultures we all share similar goals and can bond no matter where we are.
Although the summer is over, I am excited to start a new school year taking with me everything I learned. The symposium was not at all scary and I was able to share my work with my family and friends. Seeing the smiles on their faces made all the hard work worth it. For anyone considering applying, please do it - do not be afraid to take risks and find new opportunities. To all the Empower Program Staff, thank you for all your hard work and kindness this summer. And to future me, let’s keep these lessons in the back of your head and see where life takes us.