Erica Hennesy

Major / Minor: Biology

Area of Research: Restorative Sciences & Dental Biomaterials

Name of Mentor: Dr. Yuwei Fan

How did you get involved in research?

I had just transferred to BU, and I knew that I wanted to get involved in research. I would periodically check the UROP website for professors posting about open biology research positions. One day, I saw a post made by Dr. Yuwei Fan of the Department of Restorative Sciences & Biomaterials at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.

How did you meet your mentor?

I just graduated this spring, but I was a pre-dental student, so a dental research position was a dream come true and I reached out to Dr. Fan via email expressing my interest in his work. It was great being able to visit the medical and dental campus and take a bit of time away from BU’s main campus. I did a lot of research on past publications from the Fan lab before our meeting and spoke with a lot of the PhD or dental students in the lab about their experiences and what they were working on at the time.

What has your UROP experience taught you?

My biggest takeaway was independence with my research, being able to plan out timelines and schedules with my research partner. Since most lab experience I had up until joining my research lab, was from course labs such as general or organic chemistry, where directions are written out clearly for you. Being able to create an experiment from scratch with the help of Dr. Fan and my research partner was really exciting, because you truly are doing something completely new and contributing to actual scientific research in a field that you love.

How has this experience helped you with non-research related things at BU?

My time at the Fan research lab is invaluable in terms of laboratory experience, presenting research at poster presentations, making friends with other undergraduate pre-dental students and overall learning in a dental environment has made me feel much more confident and really solidified my decision to pursue dentistry. I have become much more familiar with the dental world and I have had so many resources to help prepare me for my dental school application and future career.

What does a day in your research life look like?

My research at the Fan Dental Biomaterials lab works on restoring enamel and dentin via remineralization on teeth afflicted by dental caries or cavities. A typical day begins with a trip on the BU Medical Campus bus. I will check in with Dr. Fan and update on our project. Sometimes, I am cleaning extracted teeth from oral surgery patients, embedding them in resin and polishing them to prepare for treatment. If we are treating the teeth, first to demineralize and soften the teeth, and then remineralize and reharden, I will refresh our solution treatments, brushing the teeth in between treatments. I could also be measuring the hardness values of the teeth on our Vicker’s hardness machine.

What advice would you give to someone interested in UROP?

I have always believed that it is always okay to ask questions, and one should never feel something is too silly to ask. Dr. Fan was always very approachable and eager to help and said it is always much better to ask a question than to make a mistake on your experiment. I carry that principle in the classroom and in internships as well. Always ask questions!