Peniella's Bio

I’m Peniella Irakoze. I was born and raised in Burundi, Bujumbura. I lived there for 15 years and then moved to Kigali, Rwanda for about 2 years. My education was in both countries. Currently, I am majoring in Biological Sciences here at Phoenix College. For a long time, I struggled with knowing what I needed to do for life. All I received was pressure from people telling me what they wanted me to do. Not until I participated in different research have; I come to understand that my main purpose is to give back, and I see myself serving most in a role as a medical researcher which I’ve chosen to pursue in the long run. 

My life has changed since I started working in the Klapperich Lab at Boston University this summer of 2022 where I did my very first REU research on how to make a multiplexed molecular point-of-care test for prenatal screening of sub-microscopic placental malaria and common STIs- chlamydia and gonorrhea by making a multiplexed point of care device using the lab’s novel isothermal molecular amplification technique which detect identical multi-repeat sequences (Iso-IMRS).  I am from Africa, so I am very familiar with malaria, and how hard it is for patients to receive early treatments if any due to lack of clinical devices affordability. The lab is collaborating with four clinics that are located in Kenya-Eastern Africa to implement and validate the device that will be affordable. 

My contribution was to run some experiments like PCR, Iso-IMRS, DNA extractions, MEDIA change, Running Gels and Synchronization to make sure our experiments work. 

This fall of 2022, I am a full-time student, and interning for both Arizona State University and Phoenix College. I am happy for stepping my feet into the research world.  

Besides my educational life, I love and enjoy playing around with my niece. She is the one and only niece we have. The picture above shows myself and my niece in some traditional clothing.