Undergraduate Institution: St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Research mentor: Michael O'Rorke, PhD (Epidemiology)
Research topic: Using large cancer epidemiological datasets of a national prospective cohort study called NET-PRO (Neuroendocrine Tumors – Patient Reported Outcomes) to identify biomarkers for treatment response and prognosis 

Background: I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and also fondly consider Minnesota a second home after attending St. Olaf College where I graduated with my Bachelors of Arts degree (biology major) in 2023.  I developed an interest in cancer research in the summer of 2021. I did an internship at the University of Minnesota, where I was able to work on analyzing single cell RNA sequencing data from Ovarian cancer patients. My personal interests on wanting to specialize in cancers that affect women stems from my own identity as a woman myself and being raised by an army of immigrant women. I am passionate about helping women from historically marginalized communities especially, as they are not given the same quality of care, attention, and support compared to men or people from more privileged backgrounds. In the future, I plan to pursue an MD/PhD by merging a career in medicine and epidemiology. My hope is to include women from marginalized communities in large cohort studies and ensure that they can access data that pertains to them. This leads to a better pipeline of improving early diagnosis, quality of care, and survival.  When I'm not busy in the classroom or researching, I like to run, weight-train, read any fantasy/sci-fi books, and most importantly spend time with family, my twin sister, and friends.