Internship Spotlight: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Over the summer, Biotechnology major Evangeline Green was one of only seven students from Capital Region colleges chosen for a paid internship at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops, and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Her eight-week internship at Regeneron’s Rensselaer large-scale production and manufacturing process area affirmed her plan to eventually earn her Ph.D., return to Regeneron as a Biochemist, and start helping people through medical research. She plans to return to Regeneron this week for a 12-week paid internship.
During her summer internship, Evangeline shadowed Biotech Production Specialists (BPS) who showed her how to apply good manufacturing procedures, obtain specific beginner level trainings, help maintain equipment, help with equipment setup, overall cleanliness, inventory management, and assist in tasks to support the BPS team. In addition to learning about the company and how pharmaceuticals are produced, she earned certification to go to many of the process areas in Regeneron and use beginner level machinery.
She shared, “I grew tremendously through this internship, not only with my connections now at Regeneron, but I also found that coming back for the Fall Semester and resuming my education much of what I learned at Regeneron is applicable to my classes here like Organic Chemistry and Microbiology. I learned about the pharmaceutical drug-making process as a whole and it makes me want to strive even more to be the mind behind the science in drug development and research at Regeneron.”
Biotechnology major Evangeline Green and Assistant Professor Dr. Lorena Harris with some of the plants Evangeline has used in her original and independent research project.
Last semester Evangeline, who is in the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), presented her poster titled The Art of Cloning Plants Using Different Propagation Methods and Hemp Oil as Proof of Concept for Repair Activation and Neurogenerative Diseases at the Fourth Annual Capital Region STEM Poster Showcase. She presented her findings to students, professors, researchers, and STEM professionals from throughout the Capital Region. It was the culmination of the original research she performed in the Bio 142 Biology Lab with Dr. Lorena Harris as her mentor. From February through April, Evangeline researched the effects of hemp oil on plant cuttings. Her inspiration? The movie “The Martian” where astronaut and botanist Matt Damon is stuck on Mars and cultivates a potato garden there to survive.
Through her research she concluded that, “hemp oil is not universally beneficial, but with certain species of plants certain concentrations (specifically lower concentrations) of it will help the plant cuttings grow and increase cellular repair and help root stimulation. This could lead to a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases because plant and animal cells share genes related to inflammation that are functionally similar but not directly homologous, meaning they perform overlapping roles in immune defense but evolved independently.”
Evangeline plans to continue her original research in the Fall, graduate in May 2027, and transfer on to the University at Albany for her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry.
She shared, “I would like to find cures for diseases using any type of medicinal forms, such as injectables or pills. For example, I could use the project and the research I did on hemp oil and turn that into a proof of concept to treat Alzheimer’s. You could take hemp oil at lower concentrations, and it could help with stopping inflammatory symptoms that cause neurodegenerative diseases or slow it down. I want to learn as much as I can about science. I just want to help people really.”