Patrick Mullon Email & Phone Number

Rochester, Minnesota, United States

I am currently participating in the Mayo Clinic’s Graduate Research Education Program (GREP). With this program I have been working in one of the many research laboratories associated with the Mayo Clinic and will have the opportunity to take graduate coursework through the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. With this experience I have been working in Dr. Kareem Mohni’s laboratory. My work has focused around characterizing the host interactions associated with HSV1 viral replication. With this I have learned new biochemical techniques to isolate and analyze proteins associated with replicating DNA, in addition to investigating viral behavior in vitro. I am excited to continue to develop my skills in scientific inquiry, while also contributing to a knowledge base that is consequential to human health.

I lived in rural Tanzania as a member of the Benedictine Volunteer Corps (BVC). The BVC collaborates with Benedictine monasteries worldwide to provide needed services to surrounding communities. During this year-long immersive experience I lived at St. Maurus Benedictine monastery in Hanga village, Tanzania. While there I collaborate with physicians, nurses, and pharmacists from around the globe in the Saint Bernard Health Centre in Hanga Village. I volunteered as a phlebotomist and medical laboratory technician. This involved interacting with patients, collecting specimens through venipuncture and finger pricks, and subsequently performing diagnostic tests on collected blood, stool, sputum, and urine specimens. Malaria, typhoid, HIV, syphilis, and multiple parasitic infections are endemic to the region and as a laboratory technician I became proficient in the use of diagnostic microscopy and rapid antigen testing to establish diagnoses. Most valuable, however, was the opportunity to interact with the people of Hanga Village as a member of their care team. As one of few English speakers in my district I became proficient in conversational Swahili, and as my language skills improved I came better appreciate the local culture and the individual perspectives and experiences of our patients. In doing this I also gained an appreciation for complex interaction between western medicine and the traditional medical practices that have been the mainstay of care in this region for centuries.

Rochester, Minnesota, United States

Remote research experience with faculty in the virology and gene therapy department at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. My research focused on the cellular protein called USP15 and its role in the viral replication fork for the virus HSV-1. This also included outside class work on experimental design and statistical analysis in research. There was also a virtual poster presentation seminar with the completion of the program. This experience was in place for the SURF program, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beibei District, Chongqing, China

For ten weeks in the summer of 2019 I traveled to the city of Chongqing, China. While there I served as a global research fellow representing Saint John’s University in its partnership with Southwest University. While there I worked in their Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals in a laboratory focused on virulence factors associated with M.tuberculosis infection in humans. I studied PE/PPE proteins and their role in modulating innate immune responses. I gained proficiencies in varying laboratory techniques as well as experience in presenting within a scientific context. I also learned skills to overcome language, cultural, and ideologic barriers and in doing so learned to greater appreciate what connects us as human beings. My laboratory colleagues represented a diverse group of researchers with divergent cultures and beliefs and by gaining mutual appreciation for our differing perspectives we were able to more effectively further our shared goal of better understanding M. tuberculosis infection

Rochester, Minnesota, United States

In the summer of 2018 I worked at Mayo Clinic as a laboratory assistant within the Human Cadaver Procedural Skills Laboratory and the Multidisciplinary Medical Simulation Center. My duties included preparing cadavers, simulators, and equipment to optimally meet the educational goals as outlined in the program director’s curriculum. My duties further included post-course cleanup, maintenance, and respectful handling of human remains