黑料导航

From the Mat to the Lab

Biology听蝉迟耻诲别苍迟听Yamini Bhaveshbhai Patel聽poetically states that she 鈥渨ould never settle for anything, so I dipped my toes in everything.鈥�

From taking engineering classes in high school to having strongly considered joining the Indian army, Patel has explored a plethora of career options. But the medical field has always gripped her. Growing up, she observed friends and family work in medicine in her hometown of Ankleshwar, India, and witnessed the corruption in pharmaceuticals and health insurance. 

鈥淭here are struggles that both doctors and patients face, and neither party can handle or do anything about it,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople鈥檚 lives are not something to take advantage of.鈥�

In a different sense of the phrase, Patel鈥檚 father didn鈥檛 want his daughter taken advantage of, either. When she was in first grade, he signed her up for mixed martial arts (MMA) coaching. Since then, she鈥檚 competed in international competitions, has won medals, and is the junior world champion in her weight class. In fall 2022, she traveled to Japan to compete in the Asian Cup, where she placed third.

But the biggest prize achieved from her mixed martial artistry was the clarity it provided in terms of choosing a career path.  

鈥淎s an international martial artist, I鈥檝e witnessed rampant corruption in healthcare systems in many different places,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t shocks and saddens me, so I鈥檝e decided to do something about it and pursue my bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology and minor in聽business administration.鈥�

Patel is pursuing research on bacteriophages, viruses that infect and replicate only in bacterial cells, under the guidance of Associate Professor of Biological and Chemical Sciences  The biology student is studying the development of bacteriophages targeting staphylococcus aureus, pathogenic bacteria that is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue staph infections. 

With the bacteria鈥檚 ability to develop antibiotic resistance, Patel is researching phage therapy鈥攗sing bacteriophages to combat staph infections, rather than traditional prescription antibiotics. Since her freshman year, Patel has presented her scholarly research at the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (). 

鈥淧rofessor Gibb introduced me to bacteriophages during my first semester at 黑料导航, and I鈥檝e been hooked on the wonders of phage therapy ever since,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he more I work on it, read about it, and become engaged in wet lab research, the more passionate I become about all I could possibly do in the future with phage therapy.鈥�

Phage therapy wasn鈥檛 the only collegiate-level endeavor Patel pursued in her freshman year. She鈥檚 been an active  (SGA) member and was elected president for the Long Island campus for the 2023鈥�2024 academic year. Patel is leveraging her presidency to be a voice for the student body and to make positive contributions on campus. 

鈥淚 am constantly inspired by the opportunity to serve and make a lasting impact on behalf of our student body,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ach step has been a lesson, and every experience has shaped me into the leader I am today: committed to be a voice for our student community and advocate for their aspirations. I also want to help create more resources and on-campus job opportunities to help students build their r茅sum茅.鈥�

As she presses forward with her biology research and SGA responsibilities, Patel continues to compete in MMA. What began as a journey to simply learn self-defense has evolved into a joyful passion that she takes pride in. In India, Patel taught free self-defense MMA classes to women and children. She hopes to someday create an MMA team that can continue spreading that goodwill. 

Patel has several professional goals, including obtaining a Ph.D. focusing on public health, continuing medical research, and鈥攁bove all鈥攃reating her own healthcare company.

鈥淓veryone should have access to healthcare as a basic human right,鈥� she says.