My name is Teandra James, I am a Biology major with concentrations in pre-med and secondary education. In the near future I want to become a gynecologist. When I first enrolled at Old Dominion University I already knew that whatever I decided to major in would have to lead me to the pre-med track. I have known that I wanted to be a gynecologist since I was twelve years old, when I saw a gynecologist for the first time. My gynecologist was telling me so much about the female body that I had no idea about, and every since then I just knew gynecology was for me.  I was not quite sure what my major was going to be, but there were only two things I believed I was good at, at the time, which were math and science. So, after talking to my advisor at my freshman orientation I was advised to major in either biology or chemistry. I picked biology.  Of course, after attending college math classes I no longer believe that I am as good at math as I thought. I also learned about the Monarch Teach program at my freshman orientation. After hearing about all that the program had to offer I decided to enroll in the program.

In this course, I want to learn about how cells communicate with other cells. I know the basic organisms of a cell and their functions, however I don’t understand how exactly a cell tells another cell what to do or how to function. After reading the syllabus I am also curious about learning how the internal membrane system and cytoskeleton functions in the eukaryotic cell. I am also curious about the PrEP drug, it is a drug that helps prevent HIV. I know that HIV is a immunodeficiency virus and I know that taking PrEP daily will help prevent someone from contracting HIV. However, what I am not understanding is how a blood-borne virus such as HIV can be prevented by simply taking a pill daily without causing serious harm to the immune system. HIV shuts down the immune system, so taking a pill after it is contracted makes sense. However, how can you make an already healthy immune system healthier before anything is wrong?

My goal in this research is to determine how PrEP affects the immune system. I want to follow up on PrEP because this is the first drug that I have heard of that can stop you from getting a form of a sexually transmitted disease. HIV does however differ from most STDs.  Understanding how cells communicate with each other will help me understand how PrEP can affect the immune system.

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