Enya Hoxha ’27 spent her high school days in a dance studio, training full-time with the Houston Ballet’s professional program, where she specialized in classical and contemporary ballet. “I danced from nine to five and completed my high school classes online at night,” she said.
Now, the molecular and cell biology major spends those same hours at Texas A&M University, where she has traded rehearsals for research as she works in Dr. Jolene Ramsey’s lab. There, she studies bacteriophages — viruses that infect bacteria — and develops new ways to observe how they behave inside the gut microbiome.
The transition into research is not a break from her past but a continuation, shaped by the same focus, passion and effort that first drew her to dance.
“Dance is more applicable to research than you would think,” Hoxha said. “It taught me that passion fuels the work. I can love to dance as much as I want, but if I’m not pushing myself to my max, I'm not going to get the results I want. I was truly passionate about dance, so the hard work felt normal. I’ve been translating that into research. My passion for research must fuel my desire to go into the lab and put in the work.”
Hoxha said the change from dance to research happened one evening in her junior year of high school during a virtual course on the molecular biology of medicine. “In that class, I realized that biology could prepare you for much more than just medical school,” Hoxha said. “I remember learning about the different cellular processes and the experiments that led to them. It was super intriguing and exciting to me. I knew then that I wanted to do research and be on the front lines of discovery.”
With her mind made up, Hoxha applied and was accepted to Texas A&M, fired up and ready to pursue a new path. A class with Ramsey during her first year led to a mentor-mentee relationship that set her on the path to phage research.
“Dr. Ramsey was influential in my decision to stick with research,” Hoxha said. “I knew I wanted to do research, but you can only know so much about something before you have to jump in and just do it.”
During her first summer session at Texas A&M, passion and attention to detail paid off. Recognizing her experience, maturity and wisdom, Ramsey invited Hoxha to join the lab. It was a significant investment in her future.
“Enya is precocious. She was the top student in my special topics course usually populated with graduating seniors,” Ramsey said. “Rather than being intimidated by the high expectations we have for students to engage with and interpret articles about the cutting edge of biology research, she rose to the challenge with curiosity and determination. Her early ability to analyze data and grasp new subjects led me to admit her to my lab.”
Inside the Lab
In the lab, Hoxha is working on improving the systems and methods for observing phages, particularly in the gut microbiome.
“Phages have unique characteristics that have remained understudied because we don’t have the tools to study them,” Hoxha said. “I'm helping to develop those tools. For example, we are developing a fluorescent system that allows us to perform single-cell analysis to track individual bacteria infected with phage. Typically, those experiments are done in aerobic settings, but my project focuses on anaerobes, bacteria that only grow without oxygen. Eventually, we will optimize that system and observe those infected bacteria.”
Most of the currently studied phages infect bacteria that grow in the presence of oxygen because they are easier to work with and are more established research models. Hoxha’s research is unique because the absence of oxygen requires non-traditional methods for conducting single-cell phage-host studies.
Hoxha has displayed grit and determination in the lab, which has continuously impressed Ramsey. When a bacteria culture was repeatedly contaminated after sterilization, she refused to give up, remaining committed to a challenge that most would shrug off as an immediate failure.
“She looked for solutions by reading articles and systematically trying variations of the protocol until she made media that stayed sterile,” Ramsey said. “That perseverance led her to isolate two new phages from the environment that she named Senya and Shash.”
“Senya was inspired by my own name, and Shash is the name I used to call my sister, Shalimar, when we were kids,” Hoxha added.
The goal is for this research to be useful in studying conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, all of which are partly caused by an unhealthy gut microbiome. The study of phage-infected bacteria and how they affect human health is still a developing topic of research that may eventually translate into medical advancements to improve quality of life.
“The phages I research infect bacteria living in our gut microbiome that metabolize carbohydrates,” Hoxha said. “When our microbiome is not working correctly, we are at risk for certain diseases. Understanding how phages interact is essential to understanding whether gut microbiome editing could restore health.”
More Than Work
Hoxha is not alone. The graduate and undergraduate students who work in Ramsey’s lab have formed tight bonds by collaborating on projects and often enjoy time together outside of their lab work.
“Because we're all close, we have a strong lab environment,” Hoxha said. “Me and my graduate student, Gillian Brown, still have a mentor-student relationship. She is a great listener who is always available if I need help, even if it's outside of my project. The other undergrads are also amazing. Last summer, we traveled to the beach, went kayaking and bowling and played laser tag together. Having this community outside of the project is special.”
For Hoxha, finding the balance between work and play — her scientific and artistic passions — is essential. Although she is no longer pursuing dance full time, she has discovered a way to perform and find community through the Aggie Ballet Company, a Texas A&M student organization.
“I’ve been dancing since I was about 18 months old, so I don’t know a life without dancing,” Hoxha said. “Being involved in dance is nice because it reminds me of what got me where I am. It has been great to be part of it, especially with significantly lower stakes than I was used to.”
Although she is uncertain whether she will stay at Texas A&M after graduation, Hoxha knows her future includes doctoral-level research. Ramsey confirms that her determination and inquisitiveness will suit her well in this pursuit.
“Enya already embodies the ideal undergrad researcher,” she said. “Someone resilient to failure and continuous challenge, a person who is comfortable learning alone and with a team. A great undergrad is self-motivated to ask questions, find solutions and immerse themselves in scientific research.”
To read more about Enya Hoxha’s accomplishments, read the award story and her research student spotlight.
