California rugby front rower Josh Mao is trading in his Blue & Gold stripes for a white lab coat this summer as he spends his time working in the Vance Lab on Berkeley's campus. The 5-foot-11, 230-pound prop is working for graduate student Brenna Remick in UC Berkeley Professor Russell Vance's lab, where they conduct research in the field of immunology.

"I took a class with Professor Vance, which really sparked my interest in immunology," Mao said. "I reached out to him asking if there was any space in his lab this summer, and luckily there was a graduate student looking for an undergraduate to help out with her project, which set everything in motion."

Mao is working on a project centered on effector-triggered immunity. He conducts hands-on experiments at the cellular level, studying the ways in which cells can sense the proteins that bacteria eject into them, and what effect this might have on the cells.

"I do a lot of tissue culture work right now," Mao explains. "I'm growing different types of cells and infecting them with different viruses and proteins. I also work on growing the bacteria, isolating DNA and testing for cell death."

A typical day at work for Mao begins in the morning when he carefully plans and preps his day. Like every good researcher and student, Mao likes to take notes on everything he does in the lab. Each morning he spends time reviewing his notes from the previous day in order to prepare for the experiments he'll be starting. He then commences his experiment for the day, sometimes even conducting multiple at once since the timing of them all vary.

"The cells are pretty picky, so you really need to do certain things at certain times," Mao said.

Mao works from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every week day, and even sometimes on the weekends as well, keeping him on a busy schedule throughout these summer months.

Although the school year is on pause for the summer, the work of a student-athlete is year-round. Despite his packed work schedule, he still makes time this summer for his athletic training schedule to ensure that he's in shape the fall sevens and spring fifteens seasons.

For Mao, staying in shape is even more important this summer as he works to recover from an injury. He spent half of the 2021-2022 season sidelined after dislocating his knee cap in a match last spring. Prior to the injury, he had played in two fifteen-a-side matches in January, even contributing a try in the 57th minute of a home match against UCSB. The injury has required a lengthy rehabilitation period, which included a regimented training plan developed by Associate Head Coach Tom Billups to get him back on his feet and running again.

 "I've been following Coach Billups' conditioning plan which has helped a lot in getting me back to running," he said. "I've also been working with the athletic trainers on my running mechanics."

He has continued this conditioning program throughout the summer, running three days a week and then weight-lifting and working on mechanics another three days a week, all in the Cal Athletics facilities. "I like to go in around 7 in the morning to fit my workout in before I head into work at around 9 a.m.," he noted.

Balancing the demands of a student-athlete is no easy feat, but Mao explained that he likes to keep a tight and organized schedule in order to stay on top of things. Like how he carefully plans out the timing of experiments in the lab, he plans his own time in the same way to maximize his efficiency.

He also attributes the things he's learned from the rugby program to how he's able to manage his time effectively: "I'll do one thing at a time and really focus on it so it gets done right before I move on to the next thing."

Mao carries this approach and other things he's learned from being a part of the rugby team into his work in the field of science.

"The skills that I've learned in rugby translate over to my work in a lot of ways," he said. "Knowing how to work in a team, how to deal with people and how to communicate effectively are all things that I learned from our program. Rugby has instilled in me a desire to always show my full potential and that's something I strive towards at work every day."

Mao's experience this summer is one that he thinks is very unique to the Berkeley campus, especially in his ability to participate in research with world-renowned professors while also being a part of one of the most nationally recognized collegiate rugby programs in the nation.

"On the rugby side, the team and the program's reputation speak for itself," he said. "We're such a good program for developing athletes, and young men. I obviously love the sport of rugby and the chance to play here at Cal, but it's also the camaraderie that I've learned from this team that is just something I've never experienced before. In terms of the academics, being at Berkeley still feels like a breathtaking thing, especially with all the scientific inventions and discoveries that have come from here."

As a rising junior, Mao still has lots of opportunities ahead to continue growing as both a student and an athlete on the Berkeley campus. After he completes his degree in Molecular and Cell Biology, he hopes to continue on the path of working in the field of immunology either through academia or research.

When the fall season comes around, though, he'll be ready to hang up the white lab coat and suit up for the Golden Bears on the pitch once again.