Kirista Howard-Barton

Currently, I am a senior at Old Dominion University and am majoring in Biology. After graduation I fully intend to further my studies by either working towards becoming a physician assistant or joining the research community for dermatology. It is my goal to utilize the laboratory practices that I gained during this course to help gain better insight into how to treat a variety of skin conditions, especially treating skin conditions involving unwanted bacteria on the skin’s surface.  Although I don’t have direct experience in the field of dermatology, I plan on following the good lab habits that I have cultivated including maintaining detailed records of what was accomplished in a laboratory setting and how to address issues when they arise. 

This research class greatly expanded my critical thinking by making me consider not only what may have gone wrong during the experiment, but also helped me develop a greater understanding of how to improve laboratory practices.  I would like for my research to help people of all ages develop better self-esteem by helping their skin look as healthy as possible. In the future, I would like for my research to help broaden medical approaches to skin care by also factoring in things such as healthy bacteria count on the skin’s surface. I want to help make simple skin care routines that positively impact all of society by taking into account the amount of time people want to or can spend on self-care.