When it comes to globally renowned health care and scientific research, there aren’t many bigger names than the Mayo Clinic. Gustavus undergrads are fortunate to have access to this prestigious pipeline, and Henry Noma ’24 made the most of this opportunity this summer.
Noma is one of nine current Gustavus students who participated in the Mayo Clinic’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program in Rochester, an intensive 10-week opportunity for budding MDs and PhDs. His focus is chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, while living with several Gusties and working alongside 120 or so other SURF student researchers from around the world. (See page 19 for more on the program.)
Although he wasn’t positive he wanted to apply for the program last fall, Noma, a Biology and Chemistry major, is glad he did. “It’s been a great experience and not what I expected at all,” he says. “I thought I was going to have ‘impostor syndrome’ in the lab. I’ve done research before, but I didn’t really think of myself as a competitive person for programs like this.”
It helps that he’s working with a project lead at Mayo who’s been hands- on and available to discuss everything from research goals to big-picture ideas about how to approach one’s career. “He makes sure that he knows what I’m working on every single day and sets the tone of what I’m going to do,” Noma says. “I have developed a lot of confidence, which was a big thing for me. I also thought I wasn’t going to understand my project, but I actually found that to be completely false. I feel like I’m coming into my own by just doing the work.”
The experience has helped shape Noma’s future plans as well. He’s known for some time that he wanted to go to grad school soon after leaving Gustavus, but the perspective and connections he’s gained from SURF have broadened his outlook far beyond what he was thinking prior to starting the program. “Before this summer I’d picked out two grad schools I’d be interested in applying to. Now I have about 15, so I’ll need to winnow down that list,” he says.
Excellence is a core value at Gustavus. Noma is leaning toward a future in academia—one that would allow him to research and teach. Right now, he’s considering taking another research job next summer before he makes a full commitment. “Academia is fitting for me, but I also know that I care about my work-life balance,” he says. “I’ve been a [teaching assistant] three times already, and it’s been a great experience that I could see making my career.”
