Sharma Chosen for Internship at Prestigious Salk Institute

Out of nearly 600 applicants, Global Scholar Mansha Sharma was one of ten students to earn a Salk Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Salk SURF). The Salk Institute, founded by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine, is world-renowned for its life sciences research. During her nine-week internship, the KU honors student received one-on-one mentorship, hands-on research experience, and incredible networking opportunities, including being the sole intern selected to do a  live on-air interview with FOX 5 San Diego.

“Mansha brought genuine enthusiasm and curiosity to the lab from her first week, always asking thoughtful questions and never hesitating to seek clarity when unsure,” said her mentor, Ismail Ozcan, a Salk postdoctoral fellow. “Over the summer, that curiosity helped her build real scientific thinking skills. By the end of her time in our lab, she was able to reason through the scientific rationale behind her experiments rather than just conducting the protocol. She was also a reliable and easy presence in the lab, and it's been a great pleasure mentoring someone so eager to learn.” 

Born and raised in Nigeria but of Indian descent, Sharma is the epitome of a Global Scholar. The standout student came to KU to study Behavioral Neuroscience. She is minoring in psychology and data science, earning a certificate in Mind and Brain, and serves as a Student Alumni Ambassador. She is also a member of the University Honors program and received an Honors Opportunity Award, the J. Michael Young Award, for her internship.  In the lead up to her senior year, Sharma was looking for research experience outside of KU, which led her to apply to the prestigious SURF program at Salk Institute in San Diego. 

There she worked on a four-person research team with Ozcan, a research assistant, and another undergraduate student. In the early part of her internship, she would be given specific tasks to complete. Eventually, she was able to plan and execute her own experiments, then analyze the data. Her research focused on understanding how aging affects neurons, specialized cells in the nervous system that transmit messages through the body. This work was part of a larger research effort to better understand neuronal aging, which is a major factor contributing to neurological diseases like Alzheimer's.  

“It was amazing to go through the whole process and be selected by Salk, one of the most prestigious institutions in the country for cancer and neuroscience research,” Sharma said. “Feedback was that I looked so confident during the interview, but I was so nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that much cortisol and dopamine at the same time. Plus, I was really lucky to have such an amazing mentor that answered what seemed like 100 questions daily!”

While she works in two KU labs during the academic year, she does so in chunks of time between classes. This was her first time working full days in a lab and it required a new level of patience. These complex experiments were difficult to design and took time to develop, including one with a 21-day cycle.  

“I realized how much patience I needed to actually get through an experiment because this was such a major project. If you're always in a hurry to do it, you most likely will have to repeat the entire thing again. There were moments that I wished we could just fast track it though,” Sharma admits.

At the end of her time at Salk, Sharma presented to the entire Salk community. Because of her exceptional presentation, she was chosen to represent the Salk SURF program on the FOX 5 San Diego. 

“There were 60 great scientists just staring at me. I think I was more nervous with that capstone presentation than the live interview too. I knew it was live and people were seeing me in real time, which was scary but not as scary as talking in front of some of the best scientists in the world,” she said.  

Sharma will be among the senior Global Scholar cohort who will be presenting at the Global Scholars Research Symposium this April. The Global Scholars program selects highly motivated sophomores with an interest in international studies for a unique educational experience. The program emphasizes intercultural learning opportunities and faculty-mentored research. Global Scholar applications for the 2027 Cohort are now open through September 28.