Translational Immunology
Ohio Wesleyan Student Interns with OWU Graduate at Clinical-Stage Biotechnology Company
Name: Sharvi Arora '26
Hometown: Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir, India
High School: Presentation Convent School, Jammu
Majors: Pre-Medicine and Neuroscience
Minors: Chemistry and Dance
OWU Connection Experience: Working as a "very hands-on" biology research intern at Evommune, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Palo Alto, California
Arora was hired for her three-month internship by fellow Bishop Jamie Harden '06, Ph.D., Evommune's senior director of biology. Of her own OWU experience, Harden says: "I greatly value my liberal arts education from OWU, and truly feel that OWU was the foundation to my successful scientific career today. It wasn't until after I left OWU and started my Ph.D. that I realized how lucky I was to have had such a significant amount of hands-on lab experience for all four years of my undergraduate education."
Hands-On Internship
"I had the opportunity to spend my summer at Evommune getting a hands-on look at how science moves from an idea at the bench toward a potential therapy," Arora says. "I worked on a preclinical immunology project focused on chronic inflammatory diseases, gaining experience with primary human immune cells, ELISA and MSD assays (a type of lab test), cell culture, and an introduction to flow cytometry.
"Along the way, I analyzed data, troubleshot experiments, and dug into the scientific literature behind our work. I was also able to see the bigger picture of drug development by learning how in vitro findings inform preclinical models and how scientists make decisions about what comes next. I will be wrapping up my experience by bringing together my project findings and presenting what I learned throughout the summer to the team."
Why This Opportunity?
"I pursued this opportunity because I wanted to experience what research looks like beyond an academic lab and understand how scientific discoveries can actually make their way toward patients.
"As someone interested in pursuing an M.D.-Ph.D. in Neuroimmunology, I was especially excited by the chance to explore translational immunology and see how researchers approach developing new therapies for autoimmune diseases."
A New Perspective
"I valued being surrounded by scientists with different yet similar backgrounds and seeing how much curiosity, collaboration, and constant problem-solving go into answering a single research question.
"This experience pushed me outside of what I had previously known from academic research and gave me a new perspective on the many directions a career in science can take.
"It also strengthened my excitement for continuing to explore research at the intersection of science, medicine, and ultimately patient care."
Favorite Moments
"My favorite moments were honestly the ones when an experiment actually worked! There is something so satisfying about spending hours culturing cells, carefully pipetting what feels like a million tiny volumes, running an MSD assay, and finally watching all of that work turn into real data.
"MSD was completely new to me when I started, so going from learning the technique to feeling comfortable running experiments and understanding what the results actually meant for our project was incredibly rewarding. It made all those hours at the bench (and all that pipetting!) completely worth it."
I learned to think more deeply about why an experiment is being done, what the data actually tells us, and what question should come next.
Lessons Learned
"One of the biggest things I learned this summer was how much goes into research beyond the experiment itself. I took Medical Microbiology with Dr. Andrea Suria (amazing class!) during my last semester of senior year, which really strengthened my interest in immunology. At Evommune, I was able to explore that interest from a completely different perspective.
"I learned to think more deeply about why an experiment is being done, what the data actually tells us, and what question should come next. I also saw how much discussion, collaboration, and decision-making happens around the data, especially when the goal is to develop something that could eventually become a therapy.
"Being in that environment made me more comfortable asking questions, admitting when I did not know something, and learning from people with very different areas of expertise. As I think about pursuing an M.D.-Ph.D., that was probably the most valuable lesson for me: Good research is not just about being technically skilled, but about staying curious enough to keep asking better questions.
"Experiences like this matter because they give you the space to figure out not only what you are good at, but what genuinely keeps you interested and wanting to learn more."
My Mentors
"Leigh Mascolino, the director of Career Connection, played a huge role in making this opportunity possible for me in collaboration with Jamie Harden '06 at Evommune.
Through Career Connection's Real Life 101 program, I was able to connect with Jamie and ultimately turn that connection into an internship opportunity. I am incredibly grateful for the way Career Connection helped bridge my experience at OWU with an opportunity to explore the next stage of my career."
A Mentor's Perspective
Of meeting and hiring Arora, OWU alumna Harden says: "I met Sharvi via the Career Connection office and we immediately hit it off. I was extremely impressed at her ambition, and she asked great questions. Additionally, we shared a love of immunology, and I couldn't believe she was reading primary immunology literature, purely out of interest.
"As an OWU science major myself, I know what solid laboratory skills the students coming out of the OWU science departments have. I was pleased to be able to offer Sharvi a summer internship at Evommune and knew she would be a wonderful addition to the Evommune biology team. Indeed, she has significantly contributed to our research this summer, and I'm so glad she has gotten the opportunity to see what the pharmaceutical industry is like. I know she will go on to achieve great things in her scientific career.
"I look forward to continuing to work with Career Connection to provide other students like Sharvi opportunities to learn about careers in scientific research in the pharmaceutical industry."
Campus Involvements
Before graduating in May, Arora was heavily involved in campus life, sharing: "I was involved in Orchesis and Terpsicorps as a dance minor. I was involved as the co-president and co-founder of the new club on campus called MAPS (Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students). I was involved with the Genetics Club on campus, Horizons as well, and worked for Leigh Mascolino as her intern at Career Connection. I was also involved in the Biology Department all throughout my college as the Microbiology Lab assistant to Melinda Endres and … as the Culture Curator."
Why Ohio Wesleyan?
"I chose Ohio Wesleyan because I wanted a college experience where I would have the freedom to explore all the different things I was interested in rather than feeling like I had to fit into one box. I knew I wanted to study neuroscience and pursue medicine, but I also wanted to continue dancing, explore different areas of science, do research, and have opportunities to learn outside of the classroom.
"OWU gave me the flexibility to do all of those things while being part of a smaller community where I could actually get to know my professors and mentors. Looking back, that combination of exploration and close mentorship ended up being one of the most valuable parts of my experience."
My Plans After Graduation
"After graduation, I plan to spend the next couple of years working in research before pursuing an M.D.-Ph.D., with the long-term goal of becoming a physician-scientist. …
"Jamie helped me build further connections across the states, and as a result of that, I got a post-baccalaureate research scholar position in the Division of Cardiology and Vascular Biology at Boston University School of Medicine. I'll be starting this October, and I'm incredibly excited about this next step as I also navigate M.D.-Ph.D. applications to potentially start medical school in the year 2028!
"OWU has prepared me for this path through much more than coursework. I have explored different areas of research, developed my own neuroscience project with the help of my peers and mentors, presented my work, and discovered new interests, particularly in immunology.
"The mentorship and opportunities I received at OWU have also pushed me to become a more independent and curious scientist and helped me better understand the kind of physician-scientist I hope to become one day."