Spring 2022 - The Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP) here at the UA offers undergraduates the opportunity to intern in research labs (see Skylar and Atley on over in the Langlais Lab Alumni page). Who knows why, but, Jake Nash, upon getting accepted to UBRP, reached out with an interest in performing his UBRP summer internship in the Langlais Lab. I can only assume all the other labs were full. Jake, a junior, hails from near Fountain Hills up in Phoenix where he grew up dreaming of playing in the NBA, only to realize that he had reached his peak on his middle school junior varsity basketball team. Jake is the first student in the Langlais Lab to get detention from blowing off the basics. After four days of D-Hall, Jake emerged with a better understanding of the Langlais Lab, so he took that newfound knowledge and parlayed it into performing the worst glucose uptake assay that I have ever seen. In true underdog form, Jake, determined to succeed, stayed on the grind and through his hard work, earned himself a spot in the Langlais Lab. In his spare time, Jake, who never gave up playing basketball, enjoys swatting jabronis' garbage deep into the bleachers over at the Rec Center. Jake, let's go discover something before I get fired.
UPDATE - Spring 2024 - Jake ran out of time. He had to bail from the Langlais Lab right before he was about to start the last semester of his senior year, he had too many important classes he needed to take. It's a shame too, Jake ended up being really good at this. Jake will be taking a gap year after he graduates and plans on applying for medical school with the hopes of starting Fall 2025. We already miss him.