Undergrad Derek Du Bois is featured in #IamUCI news article.

The second time was the charm for Derek Du Bois. After enrolling at UCI a decade ago and compiling miserable grades, he dropped out and spent the next seven years bouncing around the U.S. and even Australia dabbling in various occupations, including pizza deliveryman, real estate agent, video store clerk, firefighter trainee and national park restaurant waiter. In 2016, Du Bois decided to give the Anteater kingdom another whirl. Majoring in chemistry, he quickly impressed a teaching assistant, who recommended him for a spot in Professor James Nowick’s research lab. There, Du Bois got hooked on “the joy of discovering” while conducting experiments on the antimicrobial properties of a new antibiotic. He also co-authored a chemistry journal research paper and landed a $4,000 fellowship from Allergan. Hoping to eventually become a research chemist, Du Bois is set to begin doctoral studies this fall at the University of Michigan.

– Roy Rivenburg, UCI

Read the entire article here.