“My experience with Dr. Totonchy in the lab led to me developing skills that directly earned me a role. I think my case is a great example of how Chapman got me my job!” -Nancy Palmerin, M.S.P.S. ‘21

Nancy Palmerin, who is now an Immunotoxicologist with Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals, earned her Master’s of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences from CUSP. During her time at Chapman, Nancy became very involved with wet lab research. A wet lab is a lab where research is performed on biological matter, chemicals, or drugs involving liquids.  Under the guidance of Dr. Jennifer Totonchy, she found that she loved research and decided that her goal was to be in the pharmaceutical field.

While at Chapman, Nancy performed research on Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus, or KSHV. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) causes several cancers in people with weak immune systems, especially affecting B lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). This study looks at how KSHV enters tonsil-derived B cells and the roles of a protein called glycoprotein H (gH) and a receptor known as DC-SIGN. The results show that while DC-SIGN helps KSHV enter some B cells, it’s not needed for all types. Additionally, KSHV-gH can help the virus enter certain B cells without DC-SIGN, indicating that KSHV uses different methods to infect various B cell types.

Nancy’s experience in the wet lab provided her with practical experience that enabled her to find a rewarding career as an Immunotoxicologist scientist with Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals. She says one skill she learned in the lab that led directly to a role in the future was flow cytometry. On a day-to-day basis, her responsibilities include the development and execution of custom in vitro immunological bioassays, support of candidate safety assessments, ex vivo immune biomarker development, immune mechanistic safety, and issue resolution for diverse modalities, as well as writing regulatory reports.

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This article was written by Silas Fernandes.