Jacob Halka, Genomics & Precision Health in England, Summer 2026
It’s been about a month since I got back from England and started my internship at the National Institutes of Health this summer, and upon reflecting on all my wonderful memories from my Maymester abroad, it’s quite easy to see how my global experience connects with my intended career path and consider the ways it might integrate into my next steps.
In biomedical research, precision health and genomics are of utmost importance. Within several of the labs I’ve worked in, there is a heavy focus on new genetic and genomic sequencing techniques, including spatial transcriptomics and single-cell RNA sequencing, which can allow researchers to analyze their data in new, revolutionary ways. For example, you can now measure gene expression in individual cells, or map molecular interactions between neighboring cells. Twenty years ago, none of this would have been possible, and it was exciting to learn about how some of these advances in genetic and genomic sequencing have benefitted public health and healthcare, outside of the lab space.
In several guest lectures from professors at Northeastern University and nurses at England’s National Health Service, we learned how pharmacogenomics (the influence of genetics on people’s responses to medications) can be considered in sequencing the genomes of patients. I learned that four individuals could receive the exact same dose of the exact same drug, but have vastly different responses. This wasn’t necessarily a complete surprise, but it was certainly interesting to consider how having genetic information could inform or help predict how someone might respond to a given medication.
As someone who’s interested in investigating viruses and host-pathogen interactions, these new technologies can uncover a vast amount of new information as it relates to cellular responses to infection. This study abroad program also allowed me to interact with public health students and learn more about the clinical side of science, which has deepened my interest in public health epidemiology and equity as it relates to virology. I also thought it was really cool to learn from healthcare practitioners connected directly to England’s national health infrastructure as I’m starting to conduct research in the United States’ national health infrastructure, and it’s been quite interesting to compare and contrast our systems.
During my time in England, many people supported my journey, from all the great Pitt students that travelled abroad with me to our wonderful team of professors, including Dr. Susan Wesmiller and Dr. Yvette Conley in Pitt’s School of Nursing. Having such a small, tight knit group really gave us the opportunity to foster a sense of close community, especially on our weekend excursions where we’d often spend from sunrise to sundown with each other, taking trains up to Edinburgh or London for the day and getting to know each other better while we navigated new cities in the U.K.
One of my favorite shopping adventures was visiting the Camden Market in London, with an aesthetic display of floating umbrellas that instantly caught our attention. They had some wonderful jewelry, teapot sets, and thrift stores to venture into, and I loved interacting with all of the local shopkeepers. One of the best parts of the experience was getting to meet so many locals, whether it be nurses at the NHS, staff at the Harlaxton Manor, or the local shopkeepers, and I’ll definitely cherish many of these interactions as I reflect fondly on my trip.
But, like all good things, our trip unfortunately came to a close. So for now, so long, London. Trust me, I’ll be back.
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