Princeton University Athletics
Mason Killion
Helping Others: Mason Killion
October 06, 2023 | Men's Water Polo
Mason Killion was back home in Nashville, coaching water polo during his gap year and wanting to find work in the medical field to make the year worthwhile.
Luckily, Dr. Brett Mobley, the Director of Neuropathology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, happened to be the director of the water polo club where Killion was coaching.
Mobley connected Killion with a biophysics lab, and he began working on a project looking at triple negative breast cancer.
The lab was focused on 3D reconstructing organelles and seeing how they would react. Essentially, the lab would take a sample from a breast cancer patient and graph the tumor onto a mouse to see how it would grow. Then, the tumor would come off and be cut into a bunch of slices for the lab to perform electron microscopy on the slices.
After that, the lab would take thousands of pictures and trace the organelles throughout the 3D reconstruction with mitochondria, Smooth ER and lipid droplets to see how they would react with different types of chemotherapies.
"I've always known that I want to help people," said Killion about working in the lab. "The big prospect for after college would be to apply to medical school. This was something to help my resume for medical school and to see if working in a lab was something I'd be interested in."
Killion had a few different types of labs to choose, and he decided on breast cancer research because the lab was approaching its research in a different way.
"I learned a lot about how cells work and how the immune system operates," said Killion. "Something else that impacted me a lot was how driven my co-workers were to do research and help people."
Princeton also had an impact on his work in the biophysics lab.
"In the lab at Vanderbilt, I felt like I was able to recognize everything that was in there, just because like all of the labs that we have [at Princeton]," said Killion. "Princeton has instructors who care and show us great techniques that are practical and used in the field. I felt like whenever the head of the lab was talking about lab equipment, I felt like I understood and wasn't uncomfortable with that. I don't know how many other places would be able to prepare you like that."
The water polo team has also helped Killion outside of the pool and in the lab.
"Princeton Water Polo has taught me a lot about how to move on past mistakes," said Killion. "Take each moment as it is and try to be better in the next moment."
The junior helped the Tigers win the 2022 Northeast Water Polo Conference championship and reach the NCAA Quarterfinals after posting 33 goals. 22 assists and 33 steals. This season, Killion has 13 tallies and nine helpers for the Tigers who sit No. 6 in the country and 14-2 overall.
Following his time at Princeton, the junior isn't sure what to do next. He's thinking about orthopedic surgery or neurology, but each moment with the lab and in the pool has helped him be better for the next moment.
Luckily, Dr. Brett Mobley, the Director of Neuropathology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, happened to be the director of the water polo club where Killion was coaching.
Mobley connected Killion with a biophysics lab, and he began working on a project looking at triple negative breast cancer.
The lab was focused on 3D reconstructing organelles and seeing how they would react. Essentially, the lab would take a sample from a breast cancer patient and graph the tumor onto a mouse to see how it would grow. Then, the tumor would come off and be cut into a bunch of slices for the lab to perform electron microscopy on the slices.
After that, the lab would take thousands of pictures and trace the organelles throughout the 3D reconstruction with mitochondria, Smooth ER and lipid droplets to see how they would react with different types of chemotherapies.
"I've always known that I want to help people," said Killion about working in the lab. "The big prospect for after college would be to apply to medical school. This was something to help my resume for medical school and to see if working in a lab was something I'd be interested in."
Killion had a few different types of labs to choose, and he decided on breast cancer research because the lab was approaching its research in a different way.
"I learned a lot about how cells work and how the immune system operates," said Killion. "Something else that impacted me a lot was how driven my co-workers were to do research and help people."
Princeton also had an impact on his work in the biophysics lab.
"In the lab at Vanderbilt, I felt like I was able to recognize everything that was in there, just because like all of the labs that we have [at Princeton]," said Killion. "Princeton has instructors who care and show us great techniques that are practical and used in the field. I felt like whenever the head of the lab was talking about lab equipment, I felt like I understood and wasn't uncomfortable with that. I don't know how many other places would be able to prepare you like that."
The water polo team has also helped Killion outside of the pool and in the lab.
"Princeton Water Polo has taught me a lot about how to move on past mistakes," said Killion. "Take each moment as it is and try to be better in the next moment."
The junior helped the Tigers win the 2022 Northeast Water Polo Conference championship and reach the NCAA Quarterfinals after posting 33 goals. 22 assists and 33 steals. This season, Killion has 13 tallies and nine helpers for the Tigers who sit No. 6 in the country and 14-2 overall.
Following his time at Princeton, the junior isn't sure what to do next. He's thinking about orthopedic surgery or neurology, but each moment with the lab and in the pool has helped him be better for the next moment.
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