What leads to a successful lab? Collaboration. If you take a look into the Solberg-Woods Lab that is what you will see. Mackenzie Fitzpatrick, a fourth-year Molecular Medicine and Translational Science PhD student, shared that the collaborative environment is part of what initially drew her to the Solberg Woods Lab. This lab is composed of researchers at different levels of their careers – this mix helps add to the labs success – and is focused on identifying genes involved in traits associated with obesity and type two diabetes.

Leah Solberg Woods, PhD, professor of molecular medicine, enjoys mentoring students. “Students are energetic, positive and full of good ideas and questions,” said Solberg Woods. When it comes to working together on projects each member of the lab plays a different role – graduate students are more autonomous and time-dedicated in their research and undergraduate students work in tandem and are monitored by a graduate student or senior technician. With this interaction Mackenzie gets to not only be mentored by Solberg Woods but she also gets to mentor other students like Anusha Vora, an undergraduate student at Wake Forest University (’24). 

“Each of my mentors has their own mentorship style and strengths and I have learned an incredible amount about how to be a good scientist and a good leader from each of them,” said Mackenzie. Not only is she growing as a student but also building leadership skills that she can utilize in the future. PhD students are typically in their studies for four to five years and build close relationships with their mentors. 

Mackenzie Fitzpatrick, a fourth-year Molecular Medicine and Translational Science PhD student using lab equipment.

“I discovered during my undergraduate studies that I wanted to pursue a translational science career where I could be involved in both conducting research and in helping to disseminate that research to positively impact human health. The Molecular Medicine and Translational Health (MMTS) program at Wake Forest seemed like a great fit for that kind of career path, in part because of the clinical shadowing that the MMTS program requires.” - Mackenzie Fitzpatrick, a fourth-year Molecular Medicine and Translational Science PhD student

Mentors like Solberg Woods get to watch their students grow and mature over time. One of Mackenzie’s greatest accomplishments in her four years at Wake Forest is her growth in public speaking and presentation skills. Mackenzie’s research focuses on a specific mutation in a gene called ADCY3 to understand if it may be a genetic link between obesity and depression. While many others in the lab are working on their own projects they often collaborate on different techniques and procedures. When working on pre-clinical models it often requires multiple people, which leads to more collaboration. In lab meetings members get together to collectively troubleshoot all types of problems. Mackenzie credits the wide range of backgrounds, personal connections and expertise in the Solberg Woods Lab to an improved scientific process.

After graduation Mackenzie hopes to start a career as a medical writer. There are multiple aspects of graduate school and the writing and communication is an area she really enjoys. When asked what advice she would give to young researchers, Mackenzie said, “Ask as many questions as you can! Even if you feel like it is a silly question, most scientists really love chatting about their research, so take every opportunity you can to learn and understand the finer details of what they are working on.”