羞羞视频

Ava Altenbern, who double-majored in biochemistry and art history, reflects on charting her path through a pandemic

In December 2020, in the midst of a pandemic lockdown, Ava Altenbern, then a sophomore, penned a film review of听I鈥檓 Thinking of Ending Things听for the online student magazine听The Bold. She praised its听experimentation with nonlinear storytelling and depiction of the 鈥渦ncontrollable motion of life.鈥�

At the time of Alternbern鈥檚 review, the film鈥檚 theme of disjointed temporality reflected her experience of COVID-19 disrupting her life at the 羞羞视频, where she hoped to pursue biochemistry and art history and make friends on campus.

鈥淲hen the pandemic hit, it was a really hard time because I felt like I was going backwards,鈥� Altenbern says. As a freshman living in the dorms, she had to return home to Arizona. 鈥淚 think it definitely contributed to people feeling alone; that they didn鈥檛 have a handle on what was going on in their lives.鈥�

Like countless other students, Altenbern initially struggled with the topsy-turvy world of lockdowns and online learning. However, she ended up charting a prolific undergraduate career in biochemistry and art history at CU 羞羞视频, graduating听summa cum laude听in May 2023. She is heading to Bethesda, Maryland, this fall for a postbaccalaureate research program at the National Institutes of Health.

Blurring the arts and sciences

When Altenbern arrived at CU 羞羞视频 in fall 2019, she didn鈥檛 know she would double-major in the arts and sciences. As an incoming biochemistry student, she immersed herself in the world of molecular interactions, eventually pursuing laboratory research on riboswitches, which are segments of messenger RNA molecules, for her honors thesis.

However, 鈥淚 missed the side of being able to write analytical essays like I did in high school,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淒uring COVID, I just flipped to art history on a whim and decided to commit to it as a second major. I ended up loving it.鈥�

Although Altenbern faced a massive workload from her biochemistry and art history classes, she found that the two disciplines complemented each other as well as her interest in human anatomy and medicine.

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 think that science and art cross over at all, but it鈥檚 all part of the human experience,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e different lenses of looking at the world.鈥�

Altenbern credits her brother, who attended Columbia College Chicago to study film directing and animation, for her parallel interest in the arts and humanities. 鈥淲henever I鈥檇 visit him, I鈥檇 cruise through The Art Institute of Chicago,鈥� Altenbern says.

Altenbern was especially impressed by 鈥淭he Art That Made Medicine鈥� exhibit at the CU Art Museum, which showcased how medical representations of the human body are embedded in the cultural ideals of their historical moment.

鈥淎 lot of people don鈥檛 realize how expansive art history is,鈥� Altenbern says, adding that the interpretation of art must also consider its historical and social backgrounds. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just looking at paintings, but you鈥檙e looking at clothing, artifacts and medical textbooks.

鈥淚 always knew I was going to go into the sciences in high school, but I surprised myself that I chose art history as my second major. But I think it鈥檚 all connected; doing one has helped me develop the other.鈥�

Chasing the sun

In spring 2021, after her film review was published, Altenbern faced a daunting requirement for her biochemistry major: Experimental Physics I.

鈥淚 was doing some really hard classes at that time,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a physics person at all.鈥�

However, that class turned out to be 鈥渢he perfect example of how to adapt your class to online learning,鈥� Altenbern says. She was tasked with analyzing data from solar flares. Her instructor 鈥渕ade it so much more interactive than it could鈥檝e been.鈥�

Heather Lewandowski, a professor of physics at CU 羞羞视频 who taught the class, conducted a study with the help of nearly 1,000 undergraduate students to solve a mystery about the sun that has puzzled astrophysicists: Why is the sun鈥檚 corona millions of degrees hotter than its own surface?

Altenbern was one of the students who contributed to Lewandowski鈥檚 study. 鈥淵ou got put in a team, and (the team members) taught you some Python coding, which is something I thought I鈥檇 never learn,鈥� Altenbern says.

Along with 994 other students, Altenbern鈥檚 data analysis of solar flares helped dispute a prevailing theory about the sun鈥檚 atmospheric temperatures. Researchers previously thought that nanoflares, which are solar flares much smaller than what sophisticated telescopes can capture, were behind the dramatic difference in the sun鈥檚 temperatures.

After students spent a collective 56,000 hours analyzing the data, however, they found that nanoflares aren鈥檛 powerful enough to make the sun鈥檚 corona hotter than its surface. Although this mystery remains unsolved, their work shed light on other theories, including magnetic waves transferring energy from the sun鈥檚 core to the atmosphere.

鈥淎ll the undergrads got to be coauthors on the paper,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淚 think that was a perfect way of how people adapted to pandemic conditions.鈥�

Making research strides

Later, as pandemic restrictions eased, Altenbern returned to campus to conduct research at the Batey Laboratory on riboswitches. The laboratory鈥檚 principal investigator, Robert Batey, a professor of biochemistry, became Altenbern鈥檚 advisor for her honors thesis her senior year.

鈥淚 wanted to become a forensic pathologist,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淪o, during my junior year, I really wanted to get into research.鈥�

She interviewed with a few labs at CU 羞羞视频, but found that Batey鈥檚 research team 鈥渞eally intrigued me just because of how the lab was set up, it鈥檚 a bit unconventional,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淏atey made this structure where it was a bunch of undergrads working collaboratively on one project.鈥�

Each team of undergraduates was paired with one specific part of the genomic library, and experimented with how nucleotides revealed the structure and function of riboswitches.

Altenbern also ventured into a novel, eight-month autopsy internship program at the Denver Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office. The hands-on program was very rewarding for Altenbern鈥檚 interest in forensic pathology.

鈥淵ou learned a lot of evisceration techniques and general morgue operations,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淚 learned how to remove a brain in under seven minutes.鈥�

But Altenbern鈥檚 favorite part of the internship was learning from the doctors, pathologists and autopsy technicians who guided her through the nitty-gritty of forensic pathology, allowing her 鈥渢o see that I鈥檓 actually interested in it.鈥�

Light at the end of the tunnel

Despite Altenbern鈥檚 busy schedule as a biochemistry and art history student, she also was an active presence in the campus community as a student ambassador, club organizer and lead student manager at The Connection, the campus bowling, billiard and game center.

鈥淓specially after the pandemic, I really needed to talk to people face-to-face,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淚t pushed me to become really involved in campus events. A lot of my closest friends I met through being a student ambassador or working at The Connection.

鈥淢y advice to anyone is just get involved. A lot of people are nervous about taking that step, but everyone feels that way. I think being involved in the arts and sciences naturally led me into being involved in so many different jobs and clubs across campus.鈥�

After graduating with her double major, a minor in sociology and certificate in public health, Altenbern will conduct laboratory research this fall at the National Institutes of Health, focusing on RNA viruses and viral assembly mechanisms.

Altenbern believes that medical school or a PhD program is just on her horizon. However, remembering her undergraduate experience, she says there鈥檚 no way to know where her path will go next.

鈥淚 really want to continue doing research, but maybe I鈥檒l go into forensic pathology. Everything is always changing all the time,鈥� Altenbern says. 鈥淚 have no idea where I鈥檓 going to end up, but it鈥檚 just one step at a time.鈥�