Postdoc - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

I chose to pursue my PhD in polymer science to be part of an emerging field with tangible benefits to humanity. My time in PSE, under the advisement of Prof. Tew, afforded me a multitude of research opportunities within the department, across campus, and abroad. In 2014, I was awarded the NSF East Asian and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship to collaborate with Professor Shiroh Futaki, world-renowned leader in bio-therapeutic delivery systems at Kyoto University, Japan. The research and culture I experienced while in Japan strengthened my enthusiasm to participate in robust collaborations between international scientific research groups. In 2015, I received the NIH-funded Chemistry Biology Interface (CBI) Fellowship for my collaborations with the Minter lab in Veterinary and Animal Sciences at UMass. This funding supported my joint research initiatives to interface materials and immunology. Soon after, I was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship to establish a vaccine-based application of these polymers at the Technical University of Denmark. Not only have these opportunities broadened my perspective on science, they have also reinforced the importance of communication between scientists. The skills I learned during my time in PSE have directly translated into my postdoctoral work at MIT. PSE’s progression to promote excellent research and establish scientific relationships across many disciplines makes me proud to be an alumna.