Charlotte, N.C. / October 21, 2020 - Johnson C. Smith University student Dana Battle ‘21 is getting a head start at saving lives. The senior who aspires to become a doctor, worked on COVID-19 clinical research during her summer internship with Davidson College.
“I was originally supposed to do a research internship with the University of Virginia, but it was canceled due to the pandemic. Luckily, I was able to do research with Davidson virtually,“ she said.
While Battle was grateful for the opportunity, doing clinical research virtually presented challenges. “It was hard in the beginning. I had to use computer software that I had never used before, but once I learned what I was doing, I was able to excel,” Battle explained.
Using computer software, Battle researched the chemistry of the then stage 3 clinical drug Remdesivir, used to treat COVID-19 patients. “The drug works but it doesn’t work on everyone, so my job was to try and see if I could replicate a structure similar to Remdesivir and compare the two,” Battle said.
Battle credits JCSU with the foundation for her success and hopes other students have the opportunities to pursue internships despite the challenges created by the pandemic. “Although I had not planned to do research on COVID-19, I am extremely grateful that I was given the opportunity to conduct research on a drug that could help save lives across the world.”