Field Notes: Isabelle Santos ’27 on T Cells, Taking Chances, and a Summer at Scripps Research

Unlocking algae’s biofuel potential, building artificial neural networks from scratch,  monitoring port pollution in Oakland—with the Summer Research Program at Saint Mary’s, there’s no shortage of hands-on opportunities. For ten weeks each summer, STEM students delve into a research project of their choice—on campus or off—getting one-on-one guidance from a faculty expert.

Of course, there’s more than one way for a Gael to get research experience. In the Field Notes series, we highlight students doing real-world research outside of Saint Mary’s.

Meet Isabelle Santos ’27: a fourth-year Biochemistry major, a member of the Women’s Rugby Team, and a first-generation college student from Guam. During Summer 2026, she was selected for Scripps Research’s highly competitive Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), a ten-week internship program at the world-renowned research facility in La Jolla, California. Working alongside immunologist Viviane Agbogan, a postdoctoral associate at Scripps’ Constantindes Labs, Santos explored how invariant Natural Killer T cells, or iNKT cells, fight bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.  

In her own words, here’s what Santos has to say about the research experience.

A dream realized

Of the summer internships I applied for, the one I was most excited for was SURF at Scripps Research. It was the total package: a summer in the lab, plus housing, travel expenses, and a stipend. As a first-generation college student from Guam, I don’t have family or a car in California—so an internship that covered all the necessities meant a lot. Scripps wants students to focus on research.

In March, I learned I was waitlisted—then that I wasn’t one of the recipients, which was obviously disappointing. But it was a really competitive internship; I later learned they received 1,000 applications. 

In May, I got a call from Scripps. “We got more funding, so we can expand our cohort,” the program director told me. “We have a mentor for you if you want it.” I honestly didn’t have words. As any “first-gen” student knows, imposter syndrome is hard to escape. But getting my dream internship felt like such an accomplishment. It was a first step toward thinking, “Yeah, I can actually do this.”

First line of defense 

Once I got to La Jolla and settled in, I started working with my research mentor, Dr. Viviane Agbogan, a post-doc in the Constantinides Lab at Scripps Research. The lab looks at how our immune system interacts with our commensal microbiota. Our project was focused on a type of unconventional T cell called invariant Natural Killer T cells, or iNKT cells. These are special white blood cells that quickly jump into action to fight disease and also help supervise the immune system’s long-term response to pathogens.  

Specifically, we looked at how iNKT cells fight bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. This bacterium is mostly known to cause disease within the upper and lower respiratory tract. But it can also travel through your blood, infiltrate your central nervous system, and cause inflammation of the protective membranes around your brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. We want to see how the iNKT cells combat that bacterial invasion in its beginning stages. 

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Your conventional T cells aren’t primed to respond until they’re exposed to a pathogen like S. pneumoniae or a virus like SARS-CoV-2. Unless the bacteria is already in you and circulating, or you’ve had it before or been vaccinated against it, your T cells don’t know what to do until they encounter it. But what’s so interesting about iNKT cells is that they know what they’re gonna do from the get-go. They’re primed and ready. 

It’s why researchers like Dr. Agbogan are trying to understand them as an “off-the-shelf” tool to potentially attack cancer and other diseases.  

SURFing in San Diego

My experience at Saint Mary’s in immunology prepared me well for the dry and wet lab aspects of my research—computer work, worksheets, and handling reagents—as well as the conceptual background needed. 

This was my first time conducting an experiment with a live animal. Using a mouse model, I observed what happened as the meningitis took hold after an S. pneumoniae infection. After a few days, we looked at iNKT cell levels in the brain and meninges and how they expanded alongside the infection.

Most of my days were spent in the lab with the mice. On the weekends, though, I explored San Diego with my roommates in the program. I loved checking out Little Italy or heading over to the Torrey Pines Glider Port to watch the hang gliders launch over the ocean. During my lunch breaks, I walked over to the nearby University of California, San Diego campus, which is massive. 

At the end of the summer, Scripps Research held a research symposium for all the SURF interns to present. My biochemistry professor at Saint Mary’s, Freeborne Rwere—who also wrote my letter of recommendation for Scripps Research—flew down to see it, which was special. 

One way I know it all went pretty well: The head of our program told us all, “You can take a break if you experience a lull”—but for two hours, that never happened! People kept coming up to me the whole time, asking questions, wanting to know more. 

“Throughout my time at SMC, people around me encouraged me and told me,‘You can do this.’ So just surround yourself with people who help you believe the best about yourself. The right fit will come to you in time.”  

Robots in Guam—and college in California

My mom always told me, “You were talking about college your whole life.” I’m like, Really? But she probably remembers more than I do. What I do know, though, is when I first wanted to pursue STEM. 

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In seventh grade, I had a great science teacher who had us do a lot of hands-on projects, like building an aquaponics garden at the school. That same year, I joined our Lego robotics program, which was pretty rare in Guam. Those experiences really got me thinking about a future in science.

Unless you like ocean science, there aren’t many opportunities to pursue STEM careers on Guam. So when it came time to apply to college, I looked at schools in the US, mostly in California. I first heard about Saint Mary’s when SMC admissions counselors came to speak at my high school. Our graduating class was about 68 students, really small, and that size of school really helped me get to know my teachers and peers. Hearing about Saint Mary’s small class sizes, research opportunities, and Bay Area location—that drew me in.

Now, as a fourth-year, I can definitely say the connections I made at Saint Mary’s helped me grow as a student and scientist. From peer mentors to faculty to advisors, everyone is so welcoming and supportive. It’s why I now work as a peer mentor for incoming STEM students. There’s definitely a culture of giving back here. People helped me get out of my shell and own my abilities. I want to do the same.  

Life after Saint Mary’s—and advice to “first-gen” Gaels

My future plans really took shape during my summer at Scripps. Our research assistant in the lab, Lily Moy, did the same program I did two years prior, and now she works there full-time. As part of the internship, too, we also toured and attended a networking event at Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical company, where we met two immunologists on staff. They both entered as entry-level scientists right out of undergrad. Now they help lead their department. 

It’s encouraging to see the possibilities, you know? While I want to pursue a PhD eventually, I also know I want more industry experience first. So maybe I’ll follow in Lily’s footsteps, maybe even at Scripps. That door is open, potentially.

For other students like me, my advice would be to really believe in yourself. Imposter syndrome, as I said, is such a burden. But throughout my time at SMC, people around me encouraged me and told me, “You can do this.” So just surround yourself with people who help you believe the best about yourself. And the right fit will come to you in time.  

Hayden Royster is the Associate Editor in the Office of Marketing and Communications at Saint Mary’s College. Write him.