This Chemistry Major’s Summer Gig? Conducting Research in Germany.

Honors College student Paola Kotori sought to make chemical compounds used in drug delivery more efficient as part of an academic exchange program

Paola Kotori, a junior attending Rutgers University-New Brunswick, spent her summer in a German laboratory, conducting undergraduate research.

The chemistry major participated in the Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) Germany program overseen by the German Academic Exchange Service (or DAAD, as it is known by its German abbreviation, short for Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst).

Under the RISE Germany program, select undergraduate students from North American, British and Irish universities are given the opportunity to complete a summer research internship for a minimum of 10 weeks at a German university or research institution.

"Basically, DAAD funds the entire trip, including the flight, housing, a monthly stipend, everything associated with living there," said Kotori, an Honors Collegestudent attending the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, adding students spell out their skills capacity in their applications, which are ranked and shared with up to three selected German universities or institutions. "If there's a pairing with the student and the institute, then they get a match."

The 20-year-old, who learned of the program while searching on the internet, added, "There wasn't any coursework of typical study abroad programs. I had the weekdays to work on my project and the weekends to explore."

As supplemental support for her RISE Germany experience, the Honors College awarded Kotori with a $1,000 scholarship drawn from the Honors College Endowed Scholarships, which is funded through donations.

Kotori was matched with Forschungszentrum Jülich, a nationally funded institution for interdisciplinary research in the fields of information, energy and bioeconomy that is located in western Germany. Paired with Catharina Gronkowsky, a doctoral student attending Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Kotori took part in researchfocused on optimizing the conditions for halogenated species - chemical compounds used in drug delivery - to maximize their efficiency.

"Having never worked with enzyme kinetics before, this was an entirely new scientific adventure for me," Kotori wrote in an essay describing her experience abroad. "It was exciting to see how our work could be applied to real-world problems."

At Rutgers-New Brunswick, Kotori's research is focused on identifying Alzheimer's disease through biomarkers. She found inspiration from her experience as a volunteer at Hackensack Meridian Health Hospital.

"I interacted with the elders every single day and I checked in on them to see if they needed anything, helped order their food, ensured they were comfortable, communicated with the nurses," she said. "And I had this one patient who had early Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

"It kind of hit me to see that this one individual was in the hospital bed. He didn't have any family members supporting him. He's still young, he still has many years ahead. How is this man going to continue? And I felt like I didn't have a solution for him as a volunteer. But if you take this research project and identify Alzheimer's disease at such an early stage before it gets too progressive, maybe there will be a solution."

"Paola is an exceptionally motivated and hardworking undergraduate researcher," said KiBum Lee, a Distinguished Professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers and the principal investigator for Kotori's research project. "She's curious, independent and has a natural talent for quickly understanding complex ideas and putting them into practice. I have been particularly impressed by her ability to grasp complex scientific concepts quickly and apply them thoughtfully in her experiments."

Lee, who wrote a letter of recommendation for Kotori's RISE Germany application, added, "I knew she was a perfect fit. She brings together passion for research, strong technical skills, and a collaborative spirit that makes her stand out among her peers. Those qualities made her more than deserving of such a competitive opportunity."

She's curious, independent and has a natural talent for quickly understanding complex ideas and putting them into practice. I have been particularly impressed by her ability to grasp complex scientific concepts quickly and apply them thoughtfully in her experiments.

KiBum Lee

Distinguished Professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers

Initially, Kotori was concerned the language barrier might prove too difficult to overcome, but those fears were short lived.

"It wasn't intimidating because everybody spoke German and then translated it into English," said the Lodi, N.J., resident, adding she embraced the independence of the program and became comfortable with her new environment. "I think I'm OK with not knowing what everyone in the room is saying, which if you had asked me before I would have been terrified. And now regardless of whichever country I'm in, I feel like there is no fear."

Kotori, whose older sister Olsena graduated from Rutgers in 2019, said her RISE Germany experience "was definitely exciting because this was my own project. Typically, you're partnered with a grad student, and you share the same project and work together for the results. But I had my own individual project, which meant I led my own experiments every day. My grad student, of course, did give guidance as to how to do something. But, if something didn't work out, I would be the one that would have to redo the experiment. At the end of the day, it was my data and my project that I would present at the end of the internship."

Thanks to Germany's late sunsets, Kotori spent her evenings grocery shopping, exploring the local plaza, or enjoying a treat from a nearby café.

"Weekends were for adventure - visiting other German cities or even crossing borders into the Netherlands, Belgium, or France. Despite the limited time, I packed in an incredible range of experiences," she noted in her essay.

Kotori also found time to visit two Albanian cousins living in Germany, "even if it meant taking a six-hour train ride across the country."

As for the RISE Germany program, "I think it was really a great experience," she said.

A DAAD representative will host an information session about the RISE Germany program for Rutgers students via Zoom from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 21. Registration is required.