A summer research internship gives Giovanni Caricati a taste of graduate-level science — and leaves him hungry for more
- Major: Biochemistry
- Minor: Clinical lab sciences
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| This is me doing bioremediation research at Duke University. |
By Giovanni Caricati
I applied for a student research role at Duke University this summer to get comfortable with a lab at a major university and because Duke is one school where I plan to apply for graduate programs.
My research
I’m on a bioremediation research team. We have looked into how bacteria species such as Pseudomonas stutzeri can degrade low-density polyethylene, a form of plastic found inside plastic bags and bottles. This is very important because it could help address the problem of plastic waste accumulating in the environment, posing a major ecological threat. One project looked at how the bacteria could mutate and whether the bacteria degrades the plastic at a faster rate over time. A side project investigated the effect of plastic additives.
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| I walk by this Duke Cancer Institute sign every day going into the lab, and it shows how seriously Duke takes research. Working in the lab has shown me how focused everyone is on working toward groundbreaking research for advancements in the world. |
A typical day
Typically the day starts with a discussion with my partner about what we have to do and if anything needs to be changed. About once a week, we brainstorm an idea for an experiment with our Principal Investigator Jason Somarelli, who graduated from Nazareth in 2002 and went on to get his Ph.D. With his guidance and insight, we then set up an experiment and collect data over about five to seven days. We determine if what we are looking at is working and important and report to Dr. Somarelli, to see whether anything should be changed or we should continue that same experiment.
Every Thursday, doctoral students, lab managers, and undergraduate students meet for a few hours to present the context behind their projects and what they have found. It’s fun because we hear from both our bioremediation team and the oncology team, a group that is also monitored by Dr. Somarelli.
What’s cool
There is so much that is cool, from being trusted to get the work done without someone looking over your shoulder, to creating your own hours, to being in an environment that expects nothing but the best out of you. You can create different experiments and ideas and then run them by Dr. Somarelli for a professional opinion and see if you are able to test it. Sometimes it’ll be a yes and sometimes no, but being able to learn and do research on what could work is cool.
What has been unexpectedly great is the mentoring from the lab managers and Dr. Somarelli. They are extremely helpful in making sure you are comfortable with the work being done and answering any questions. I’ve learned that when they offer criticism, it’s harder to hear from people you don’t know well, but it’s important because they want you to succeed.
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| Duke Gardens in the heart of campus is a historic garden spanning 55 acres, open daily until sunset, where I walked one weekend. |
How this experience has affected me
If anything, it has made me hungrier to achieve my goals, because I got a taste of what is in store. This experience definitely made me think about who I am and what I’ll become. It is devastating when something does not go your way in an experiment, or data is not what you intended. You just want to quit the day, but over time you learn you can’t do that. So you learn from your mistakes and go back to the drawing board, do some more research and come back with a new perspective and experiment.
This experience definitely made a positive impact for my eventual career and life’s work because it showed me that when you are having a bad day, you still have to show up, not just for yourself but also everyone else around you. I learned about myself and about what work is like at the next level.
What’s been challenging
Besides failed experiments and learning how to bounce back from that, the biggest challenge was being away from my family, my friends, and my normal environment during the summer. After the spring semester ended, I had about five days with family and friends before I came down to Duke (Durham, North Carolina). The way I overcame that challenge was by exploring, whether going out to eat by myself and trying a new restaurant or going for long runs/walks to just get comfortable with the area and ease my mind. I also found ways to do activities I enjoy, like golfing on the weekend to relieve stress.
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| I play golf at a local course every other weekend or so to help relieve stress. |
Naz support to get the most out of this experience
Nazareth’s internship course gave me assignments to reflect on my internship, which enabled me to also pay more attention to what I was working on.
Naz offered me a ton of support leading up to this internship. A few professors (Dr. Lauren Brooks, Dr. Sanela- Lampa Pastirk, Dr. Guillermo Ardon) encouraged me and told me this would be an amazing opportunity because I plan on applying for graduate school. This time at Duke has shown me what's expected from a grad student, the vibes/environment, and overall how important research is on top of expanding my knowledge through courses.
Other Naz professors (Dr. Josh Newby and Dr. Jessica Stachowski) boosted my confidence and overall hyped up the opportunity when I felt scared at first. Duke is such a well known school for medicine and sciences that at first I felt timid and worried I didn’t belong because Naz is so much smaller than Duke — but in reality, within a few weeks at Duke, I learned I am right where I’m supposed to be.
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| The Snyderman Research Building at Duke is where I’m interning. |
My earlier research experience
Last summer and through the 2025-26 school year, with Dr. Ardon at Nazareth, I participated in my first research project. We worked with the synthesis of 1,2,4-trizaoles, which are extremely important in anticancer, antimicrobial, and antifungal medications.
Also, in my Physical Chemistry course lab, taught by Dr. Lampa-Pastirk, I worked with a crystal called perovskite, which has a repeating “center-corner-face” pattern of ions, and its properties can be tuned by changing the atoms in that pattern. Pervoskites are specifically known for their light-absorbing materials in photovoltaic devices, especially perovskite solar cells — turning light into energy.
Being able to learn from two different professors was crucial because it gave me two different insights in how to think and analyze, especially when working on both projects during the same semester last spring. Even more important was working with other students. I saw that my peers looked at things completely differently than I do. Making adjustments they thought of made the projects more successful.
Giovanni Caricati, a graduate of Webster Schroeder High School, is going into his senior year at Naz. He says he has always been drawn to science and math because they are interesting and they influence everyday life. He transferred from another school to Nazareth in spring 2024. He says, “Majoring in biochemistry and minoring in clinical lab sciences is giving me the perfect opportunity to expand my knowledge and figure out what I really want to do by taking a variety of chemistry and biology courses with labs.”
