Bonjour tout le monde ! My name is Paroma Banerjee, also known as Pami, and I just finished up my junior year at the University of Pittsburgh. I am pursuing majors in Computational Biology and French with a certificate in West European Studies. Currently, I am an undergraduate research assistant in an immunology lab at Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute and a member of the Computational Health Science Club, Women in Computer Science, and French Club.
During my free time, I enjoy hiking, yoga, pilates, cycling, cooking, sketching, and baking! I love all kinds of animals, especially birds, and nature. Another one of my pastimes is language learning; I speak English and Bengali natively, am fluent in French, can speak basic Hindi, and am learning Chinese. I’m naturally an introverted person, but I am quite curious and love to talk to new people.
This summer, as a part of the International Internship Program, I will be interning for INSERM at the Institut Cochin, linked with the CNRS and Université Paris Cité. For some context, INSERM is France’s national institute for health and medical research. Here, I will be working on epigenetic profiling and bioinformatics analysis, analyzing and optimizing different pipelines used to map the influence of histone modifications on gene expression. The lab focuses on the development of blood-related diseases like leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. I am so excited to start and lucky to have such an opportunity.
Earlier this year, I was really torn between an internship program and a language immersion program. On one end, I was hoping for a bioinformatics research driven internship or experience to prepare myself for graduate school and explore more. On the other hand, I have been wanting to improve my French, especially orally, and though I have been taking classes every semester, a Francophone environment would really speed up the process for me to become truly advanced. Then I miraculously came across an 8-week internship program in Paris that would allow me to do both, and it is absolutely perfect for me. It wasn’t something I even thought to look for, which makes finding it all the more delightful.
I’m looking forward to grow in the scientific, linguistic, and cultural aspects of my academics and life in general! Living in a different country can be eye-opening and change the way we think about certain things. I’ve done a few years of schooling in Calcutta, India, and it was a whole different way of socialization. Though it took me a while to adjust, since I couldn’t speak any Hindi, couldn’t write in Bengali, and didn’t enjoy the humid and hot climate, I loved the colorful open markets, sweet shops, delicious street food, and festivals, and it was an experience that brought me closer to my grandparents and other family members.
In Paris, I already know what I’ll love. The art and architecture, the assortment of desserts and pastries, amazing public transport, and walkability. I anticipate language being a challenge, as well as certain social etiquette and subtle things that take time to catch on. But my perception of Paris is still general and nothing can teach me more than actually living there and working there. Stay tuned to hear more about my internship and experiences living in Paris!