Harry Bertera ’21: Senior Research Associate, Infectious Disease Immunology at Moderna Therapeutics

“Writing a research paper and learning how to properly approach answering a research question are both things that have helped me throughout my career."

Major/minor: Anthropology major (Global Health concentration), Biology minor 

Lives in: Boston, MA 

What work looks like: “My job entails completing research tasks to answer immunological questions related to mRNA vaccination programs. I mostly work with clinical trial samples to determine not only the immune response associated with vaccination but also further details about how the human body builds immunity from vaccinations.” 

What he loves about it: “The thing I love the most about both my job and science in general is that I never stop learning. My job is consistently demanding that I be in the know and on top of my current tasks. This can range from learning new experiments to researching and reading publications in order to be well informed about the latest developments in a disease’s global state.” 

What he gained from a liberal arts education: “The biggest takeaway for me is the breadth of knowledge I gained. Having the freedom to become an expert in global health while also pursuing scientific knowledge—and eventually a scientific career—is something I have been very grateful for. The biggest skill I have utilized is my ability to do my own research. Writing a research paper and learning how to properly approach answering a research question are both things that have helped me throughout my career."