2022-2023 Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholars:

Winter Quarter Scholars

• Shannon Hong
• Josephine Meier
• Vigash Ravi

Fall Quarter Scholars

• Leah Davis
• Harper Hults
• Elizabeth Karas
• Sneha Sil
• Ruibing Wu

Shannon Hong

Shannon Hong is a graduating senior in the Honors Program majoring in Neuroscience at the University of Washington. Her experiences conducting motor plasticity research at UW, volunteering at the UW Medical Center, and covering COVID-19 news for The Daily motivated her to explore clinical research. To this end, she participated in the Scan Design Innovations in Pain Research Program in 2022.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Tonya Palermo at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Shannon evaluated engagement with Web-based Management of Adolescent Pain (WebMAP), a digital health psychological intervention for youth with chronic pain. She presented her findings on WebMAP usage and perception to the Scan Design Board and at the UW Summer STEM Undergraduate Research Poster Session. Since then, she has been interested in exploring differences in engagement among youth with different background characteristics.

With the generous support of the Mary Gates Research Scholarship and the Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship, Shannon plans to broaden the scope of her project by identifying barriers to engagement among subgroups defined by user demographics. She will also develop recommendations for enhancing WebMAP’s cultural relevance to underserved populations. These scholarships will further support her academic goals as she completes her Departmental Honors thesis and pursues a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Shannon extends her heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Palermo and the supportive community within the Palermo Lab. Their unwavering encouragement and insightful guidance have been instrumental in Shannon’s research journey and helped her to discover her full potential as a researcher.

Outside the lab, Shannon is passionate about promoting accessibility and inclusion in student communities. She leads a peer mentoring program for Honors students, which was supported by the Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship. She also serves as an Undergraduate Research Leader, empowering her peers to pursue research opportunities and develop effective science communication skills.

Shannon’s near and long-term goals: After graduating, Shannon plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Ultimately, she hopes to become a clinician-scientist and advance digital health innovation to make mental health care more accessible. She also strives to use her background in scientific research to improve science access, education, and resources.

Shannon’s tips for future applicants: Remember that scholarship committees are not only interested in your research, but also why you are pursuing it and how it will impact you! As you work on your application, make sure to incorporate your motivations and how your research aligns with your future goals and aspirations.

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Josephine Meier

Josephine is a graduating senior majoring in Plant Biology and minoring in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management. Having grown up in many different corners of the U.S. in a military family, she has seen an amazing diversity of ecosystems, which has kindled a deep love for the outdoors. She now considers Western Washington to be her home. Throughout her time at UW, she has taken a wide breadth of coursework from marine biology and oceanography, to plant ecophysiology and forestry. All of these experiences have shaped an interest in the role of plants in global nutrient cycling processes, especially in relation to climate change.

She began her research in the Strömberg lab in her junior year (Winter 2022) after learning about how stable carbon isotopes were used to measure photosynthetic performance in fossil plants in a physiology course she was taking. Working on this research project has opened many doors for Josephine. Since then, she has learned how to successfully operate a mass spectrometer to analyze her samples, given a presentation at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, successfully applied to the Plant Biology degree, and been inspired to consider PhD programs.

Receiving this scholarship has allowed Josephine to devote more time to finishing up her research project in her final quarter. She plans to present a poster of her work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in May, and the Botanical Society of America’s conference in July.

In addition to school, she currently works as an intern at Seattle City Light, where she assists in climate change adaptation and mitigation research as well as fish biology monitoring on the South Fork Tolt River. She finds working in government to be very rewarding, and hopes to work in similar organizations in the future. Outside of her work, Josephine likes to spend time out on long bike rides and trail runs, playing viola with the UW Baroque Ensemble and UW Campus Philharmonia, and exploring the surrounding flora on hikes and backpacking trips.

Josephine’s near and long-term goals: After graduating this spring, Josephine will continue her role as an intern at Seattle City Light. She then plans to apply this fall to graduate programs to pursue a PhD in Plant Biology or related fields. Ultimately, Josephine hopes to apply her knowledge and experience to public service related roles in Washington State.

Josephine’s tips for future applicants: Make your genuine excitement and interest shine through your work.

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Leah Davis

Leah is a senior majoring in marine biology and minoring in American Indian Studies (AIS). When she was a child, Leah spent a lot of time in the Puget Sound and felt a strong connection to the water. Later, when she went on her first Tribal Canoe Journey, she was taught about the medicine in water. It further motivated her to understand and protect the life the ocean holds.

In her field, she has been involved in multiple research projects including at UW studying Pacific herring, at WSU studying the evolution of salmonid genetics, at the NWFSC studying Chinook salmon, and now at UW studying Chinook salmon. She has also worked as a teaching assistant for a capstone marine conservation course at WWU.

Outside of research, Leah’s interests include reading Sci-Fi books, writing poetry, and giving back to Indigenous communities. At UW, Leah was a mentor for Makah tribal 5th graders in the Riverways Program. As a mentor, she shared her experience in marine science and helped the students shape their own career goals.

Leah was motivated to apply for the Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship, and for the Mary Gates Research Scholarship, because they could both help her achieve her goal of becoming a salmonid ecologist by allowing her to focus on her research. She is very grateful for the support of her research mentors Dr. Thomas Quinn and Anna Kagley and is looking forward to joining the Sedlock Icon Scholar and Mary Gates Research Scholar communities.

Leah’s near and long-term goals: After I earn my undergraduate degree, I intend to pursue a M.S. and Ph.D. in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. In the longer term, my goal is to create and participate in salmonid research which centers the interests and perspectives of local Indigenous peoples. In kind, I plan to spend my career partnering with Indigenous Tribes to study the impacts of anthropogenic activities on salmonids and their ecological communities.

Leah’s tips for future applicants: Before you start your application, take time to think about how your passions, accomplishments, and goals fit into the mission of the scholarship you are applying for. These common connections are points you should emphasize in your application.

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Harper Hults

Hi! I’m Harper, a 20 year old computational scientist interested in cooking, art, music, and the nature of consciousness. I grew up on Bainbridge Island, and went to Bainbridge High School until 11th grade when I started the Running Start program at Seattle Central Community College. This program was a wonderful opportunity for me, both to get to experience the city and to learn what a healthy learning environment feels like. You see, Seattle Central was the first school I ever went in that the students actually wanted to be in. I ended up taking just about every math class they offered there, before graduating near the beginning of the pandemic and transferring to the University of Washington’s Bothell campus. I kept my head down and worked on my math major and computer science minor for a year before realizing I wasn’t going to be prepared to join the workforce in Spring 2022 as a freshly 20 year old. To that end, I applied for the Computer Science & Software Engineering major and got in. I befriended one of my computer science professors, Dr. Carol Zander, and she has been a wonderful mentor and friend to me. After taking Casey Mann’s topology course, I ended up applying for and was accepted to his summer research experience for undergraduates. That was a wonderful experience where I built deep friendships and learned what it truly means and feels like to do math research. Since then, we’ve published the research, and I’ve taken it on the road to the Northwest Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium (where I was awarded best talk) and the Joint Math Meetings (where I learned what it’s like to hang out with 5,000 other mathematicians). Last quarter, I participated in the Washington Directed Reading Program and learned all about applied category theory with Nelson Niu as my mentor. Now, I am working on applying category theory to my own research, getting a job which allows me to stretch my legs in both mathematics and computer science, and preparing to apply for graduate school in 2023 cycle.

Harper’s near and long-term goals: In the short term, I’d like to spend a PhD attempting to create a mathematical framework for consciousness by analyzing both real world brain data and the dynamics of artificial neural networks. Once I’m sick of academia I’d like to start a farming collective which provides housing and agricultural training and has grants available for individuals who complete the program to start their own farm. Finally, depending on what the world’s like, I think pedagogy will probably be overdue for reform, so later in my life I’d like to use my accumulated wisdom to formulate a new type of education system which focuses on teaching pupils how to think instead of teaching them what to think.

Harper’s tips for future applicants: Tell a story that you care about.

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Elizabeth Karas

Elizabeth Karas is a graduating senior majoring in Biochemistry at the University of Washington. Her research interests are in determining the relationship between the chemical kinetics of protein interactions and their role in cellular signaling pathways, as well as determining how these interactions can lead to disease. In the future, she hopes to integrate her knowledge of cellular signaling pathways with her background in organic chemistry to investigate both therapeutics and therapeutic targets for pediatric diseases.

Elizabeth began researching in Dr. Jesse Zalatan’s lab in the department of chemistry over the summer of 2021. In the Zalatan lab, Elizabeth researches how different types of proteins regulate signaling interactions, using Wnt signaling as a model pathway. The Wnt pathway plays a critical role in early development by regulating cell growth and differentiation. As such, it is important to investigate how the pathway is regulated on a kinetic level in order to understand how to intervene in the event the pathway becomes dysregulated and causes disease. She is currently investigating how scaffold proteins interact with protein phosphatases to keep the Wnt pathway separate from the Insulin pathway. Elizabeth hopes her research will provide insight into how non-enzymatic scaffold proteins can regulate cellular signaling as well as develop a model that can be applied to other cellular pathways. She is currently writing an honor thesis on her work.

The Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship has helped support Elizabeth’s research while being a full-time student. This scholarship also supports her academic goals of pursuing a PhD in Chemical Biology or Biochemistry. After receiving her PhD, Elizabeth hopes to head her own research lab either at a non-profit research center or as a professor, focusing on investigating therapeutic targets for pediatric diseases.

In addition to research, Elizabeth enjoys cooking, rock climbing, and doing jigsaw puzzles.

Elizabeth’s near and long-term goals: Following graduation, Elizabeth will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology or Biochemistry. Her long-term goals are to head her own research lab researching pediatric diseases such as cancer either as a researcher at a non-profit or as a professor.

Elizabeth’s tips for future applicants: My advice to future applicants is to start your application early and try to have at least one person who is not in your research group read your application essay. Writing a technical essay about your research while also making it accessible for a more general audience can be difficult and having those outside your research group review your essay helps a lot. Additionally, reflect on your unique experiences and discuss how they have impacted your research journey.

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Sneha Sil

Sneha Sil is a sophomore in the Interdisciplinary Honors program majoring in Biochemistry at the University of Washington. Her interest in ecology began from a young age while watching documentaries about animals after school. She started her project at the Santana Lab in her freshman year, hoping to involve her passion for biology and coding.

The goal of her research project is to characterize the ecological interactions between mutualistic short-tailed fruit bats (Carollia spp.) and Piper plants across different habitats at a rainforest site in Costa Rica. To analyze the acoustic data collected at the field site Sneha developed a program in MATLAB to filter out heavy background noise from animals, insects, and weather in the rainforest. She also identified the presence of bat calls in the data using peak frequency data and whether or not it was within the range of Carollia spp. bat calls, and compiled this data for further analysis.

She will use funding from the Mary Gates Research Scholarship and the Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship to conduct further precise acoustic analysis to identify the species and/or genus of bats visiting Piper plants and later carry out statistical analyses (ANOVAs) comparing the patterns of bat visitation across Piper species and forest and gap habitats. By observing these interactions, we can discover more about ecosystems’ biodiversity, better understand how plants and bats evolved, and evaluate how bats forage for and choose their food. This can more broadly serve for conservation strategies, prediction of speciation, and discoveries regarding symbiosis.

Sneha would like to thank her amazing advisor, Dr. Sharlene Santana, as well as her family and the community in the Santana Lab, for being so supportive, encouraging, and considerate as Sneha navigates her first long-term research project. She is endlessly grateful for their invaluable feedback, knowledge, and mentorship.

Sneha’s near and long-term goals: Sneha plans to pursue a Ph.D. in a specialized field within the biochemical sciences. She aims to take an interdisciplinary approach to her graduate thesis, as the process of scientific inquiry never truly occurs within one subject. Ultimately, she would like to work in her own research lab and teach as a professor on a tenure track.

Sneha’s tips for future applicants: Ask for help! Collaboration is what scientific discovery is all about, and your fellow lab members, advisor, and family members/friends in academia know this. Don’t be afraid to ask them for feedback or advice as you navigate this process (and don’t let the impostor syndrome speak for you!).

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Ruibing Wu

I am a Senior student double majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. I am also pursuing Departmental Honors in Biochemistry. During my college study, I was especially intrigued to study potential cancer drug treatments and diagnostic methods. To this end, I joined Dr. Fu’s lab to study tumor growth in response to anticancer drug treatments. I have conducted research with Professor Dan Fu since the beginning of my junior year.

The Fu lab concentrates on using Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), which is a powerful chemical imaging tool that enables non-invasive, label-free imaging of biological tissue and probes the intrinsic vibrations of chemical bonds. Currently, I am working independently on applying a mouse dorsal skin chamber (DSC) for tumor growth in vivo imaging utilizing SRS microscopy. The objective of my project is to quantify the intracellular tyrosine-kinase inhibitor’s (TKI) drug concentrations in human lung cancer tumors in vivo with a mouse dorsal skinfold chamber (DSC) model.

Working in this lab has given me excellent experiences to study the tumor-to-drug interaction and malignancies using biochemical and surgical approaches in conjunction with optical imaging techniques. In joining an interdisciplinary research lab, I work at the interface of biological, chemical, and physical sciences. For my work of the Dorsal Skinfold Chamber project, I have won both the Mary Gates research scholarship and the Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship. Those awards will encourage me to explore more scientific questions as a project leader and develop myself as a member of the scientific community.

I am especially thankful to Professor Fu, graduate student Brian Wong, and all my other lab coworkers for the mentorship they offered in my research project and the support and motivation they have given in my application to this scholarship.

Ruibing’s near and long-term goals: I plan to continue progressing in my research projects that I am currently working on to study the tumor and anticancer drug interaction in live mice models with SRS. After graduation, I plan to pursue a PhD degree in the Biological and Biomedical Science field to study disease pathogenesis and mechanisms. Specifically, I hope to contribute to the understanding of proteins associated with the neurodegenerative disease to discover potential treatments or diagnosis methods.

Ruibing’s tips for future applicants: The most important part to devote yourself into the research or field of study that you most interests you. Being able to express your passion is what builds strength and character in a personal statement. As opposed to letting others proofread your statements for editing, it is most beneficial to find someone in the same field of study as your lab coworkers or mentors for focused feedback on your writing.

2021-2022 Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholars:

• Lucy Jiang
• Cameron Norris
• Dessirée Ortaç
• Anika Rajput

Lucy Jiang

Lucy Jiang is a graduating senior majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. She is also part of the Interdisciplinary Honors program and is finishing up Departmental Honors in the Allen School. Her research interests are in accessibility and human-computer interaction (HCI), and she is passionate about developing accessible technology and fostering inclusive communities. During her freshman year, she attended a CSE seminar dedicated to reading accessibility research papers. Soon after, she began working on accessibility research with Dr. Leah Findlater in the Inclusive Design Lab. Over the last three years, she has collaborated on and coauthored research papers exploring social media through voice and interactive sound design for websites. Lucy is currently working on her senior honors thesis, advised by Dr. Richard Ladner, which focuses on the design of automated audio description pipelines and understanding how the integration of visual question answering tools can provide blind and low vision writers with the context necessary to independently write artistic audio descriptions.

During her junior year, Lucy also co-founded an AI-driven audio description startup called VerbalEyes, a project which exists at the junction of her passions for creating tangible and sustainable community impact and bridging the gap between academia and industry. In 2021, VerbalEyes was recognized and supported by Madrona Venture Labs’s inaugural university fellowship. Lucy works to understand the needs of blind and low vision users and synthesize feedback and perspectives into finished designs and features. The user research behind VerbalEyes was awarded the 1st Place Undergraduate Research Poster award at the 2021 CMD-IT / ACM Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference.

Lucy was inspired to apply for the Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship to contribute to her future goals of solving critical accessibility issues through pursuing a PhD and becoming a professor. She is grateful for the incredible support and advice she has received from mentors, research advisors, and peers throughout her time at UW!

Outside of academics, Lucy loves baking, going on long walks, and inline skating.

Lucy’s near and long-term goals: After graduation, Lucy plans to pursue a PhD in Computer and Information Science. After receiving a PhD, Lucy hopes to become a tenure-track professor and create a research lab focused on HCI and accessibility.

Lucy’s tips for future applicants: Research itself can be intimidating, and it can feel even more intimidating to apply for a scholarship dedicated to recognizing your research contributions. During the application process, focus on clearly communicating your ideas and research impact to people who are unfamiliar with your work, while also being true to yourself and showing your passion for what you do. Getting advice from mentors, advisors, and peers can be extremely helpful, but be sure to trust your instincts too!

Cameron Norris

Cameron Norris is a Senior majoring in Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington Bothell campus. In addition, he is also minoring in both Mathematics and Computer Science & Software Engineering. In recent years, he has discovered an interest in designing custom hardware accelerators that allow for faster processing speed and lower power consumption in targeted applications. Cameron wants to play a role in this increasingly important field as it is the backbone of many modern computing applications.

Cameron began his research experience with Dr. Sunwoong Sunny Kim in the summer of 2020. During this time, he researched the development of area-efficient FPGA-based hardware architectures for floating-point arithmetic. This research resulted in the paper presentation at a renowned conference, and a journal article that is now under review. He also explored the application of homomorphic encryption in privacy-preserving applications working on cyber-physical systems.

Cameron resumed research with Dr. Kim in the summer of 2021, this time focusing on hardware/software codesign. More specifically, this ongoing research seeks to improve the performance of image/video processing algorithms and machine learning inference through the use of the proposed hardware accelerators and hardware/software codesign platforms. Cameron applied for this scholarship with the hopes that receiving it would allow him to focus more of his attention on this research.

The research conducted by Cameron over the last few years has given him ample experience for his future career in the tech industry. He is extremely grateful to Dr. Kim for allowing him the opportunity to work on these projects and for supporting him throughout them.

Cameron’s near and long-term goals: After graduation, Cameron hopes to join a semiconductor company such as Texas Instruments or Intel and continue working on similar projects. He is also interested in possibly pursuing a Ph.D. degree after working in the industry for a few years.

Cameron’s tips for future applicants: Allow others to give feedback on your application because sometimes, the people around you know your strengths better than you do.

Dessirée Ortaç

Dessirée Ortaç is a junior at the University of Washington, Bothell, majoring in Biology. Her interest in the heart and stem cells was sparked during her sophomore year when she took the introductory to biology series. That same year, she was named an ISCRM undergraduate research fellow and joined the Davis lab at UW’s Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM).

Knowing that heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, Dessirée is interested in identifying the mechanisms of how the heart repairs and remodels after injury, as well as improving the quality of life of those with the disease.

One reason for the large burden of heart disease is that after injury the heart is unable to regenerate. Dessirée’s research addresses this key problem and investigates factors that control the fundamental process which underlies heart regeneration- cardiomyocyte (heart muscle cell) proliferation. To address these gaps in knowledge, Dessirée will use human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes to determine if Muscleblind-like protein 1 (MBNL1) suppresses human cardiomyocyte proliferation and determine how MBNL1 acts to regulate cardiomyocyte proliferation. Beyond her own scientific development, this research will contribute to a greater understanding of regenerative medicine by revealing novel regulators of cardiomyocyte proliferation and hence regeneration.

Dessirée’s research is supported not only by the Thomas Sedlock Icon Scholarship, but also the Mary Gates Research Scholarship and ISCRM’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship. These awards will allow Dessirée to dedicate more time to her research and to continue developing the foundation of her science career.

Dessirée is thankful for her outstanding mentors, Dr. Jennifer Davis and graduate student Logan Bailey, for their endless support, guidance, and motivation. Collectively, they have helped her develop laboratory techniques and scientific communication skills and grow as a scientific thinker.

Dessirée’s near and long-term goals: Dessirée plans to pursue a medical degree with the intent of serving women of underrepresented minorities by focusing on closing the gap in the quality of health care they receive. Eventually, she would love to give back to her roots by practicing medicine in the Dominican Republic and Turkey.

Dessirée’s tips for future applicants: Before sitting down to write your application, take time to reflect on your unique experiences, and future goals. Make sure to start drafting your application early and share your application with people you trust to get honest feedback. The UW has great writing centers, which can be helpful if you are looking to get an objective perspective before submitting.

Anika Rajput

Anika Rajput is currently a sophomore studying biochemistry. Growing up, she was always interested in learning about what factors lead to the formation of health and development milestones. Through her experiences, she learned nutrition plays a large role specifically in infant development and childhood growth. This knowledge is what led her to the Northwest Mothers Milk Bank (NWMMB), an organization with a mission to provide the most vulnerable infants with important nutrients. Her role at NWMMB included working in the pasteurization lab to make sure the milk was safe for newborns to consume. With this experience, she learned the importance of human milk for the development of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which exposed her to a unique area of healthcare and research.

In order to continue learning about these crucial topics in parallel with her education, she joined a research group in the Center for Developmental Biology at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Specifically, her independent research is with Dr. Alison Paquette involving the prenatal environment and its effects on infant health. She is currently working on a project that studies the biological function of Glial Cells Missing Transcription Factor 1 (GCM1), a transcription factor (TF) that plays a critical role in placental development. GCM1 is being studied through the analysis of the difference in gene expression between samples where GCM1 has been reduced and samples where it has not. These results will then be correlated to sex differences and specific biological pathways.

Anika was motivated to apply to this scholarship to support her exploration of infant development and gain expertise in computational data analysis tools and molecular biology techniques. She is extremely grateful to be a part of this community and to her mentor, Dr. Paquette for her mentorship, feedback, knowledge, and support.

Anika’s near and long-term goals: Anika plans to continue participating in research, specifically hoping to get involved with environmental exposure research to understand how the external environment can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and development issues.

After graduating, Anika plans to complete her master’s in environmental health and apply to medical school where she aspires to treat patients and advise patients on preventative measures using her knowledge in environmental health.

Anika’s tips for future applicants: Advice I have for future applicants is to start your application/essay early and revise it multiple times. I also found it helpful to have 2-3 different people reviewing my application. One reviewer should be familiar with the science topic you are involved with and the other reviewer should not be in the science field. This made sure that my application flowed well and could be understood by an audience with diverse backgrounds.

Murtaza Jafry

Murtaza Jafry is a senior majoring in Physics. He is a student in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program and is pursuing Departmental Honors in Physics. Murtaza has conducted research with Professor Silas Beane since the summer after his freshman year, studying applications of certain theoretical models, known as effective field theories, in the context of nuclear systems in physics. His current research interests lie in examining and developing effective field theories and quantum field theories in nature. Effective field theories provide a novel mathematical framework for explaining computationally varied experimental phenomenon in a straightforward manner. Murtaza’s research lies in how such kinds of effective field theories can be used to deduce characteristics of quantum gases and other multi-particle systems. Murtaza was fortunate to have his research published in the Journal of Physics B and Physical Review D and has subsequent research manuscripts currently in preparation.

In addition, during his second year, Murtaza continued his research in theoretical physics by working with Professor Andreas Karch in high energy theory at the UW. There he studied exotic quantum field theories and fracton models with fermions.

In conjunction with his theoretical work, Murtaza has also worked in experimental particle physics, analyzing scattering data to deduce properties of quarks, elementary particles that form protons and neutrons. The combination of theoretical and experimental work in physics reinforced Murtaza’s desire for fundamental physics research studying the varying facets of the field of physics. To supplement his research work, Murtaza has also taken advanced coursework in theoretical physics and mathematics to broaden his background in these fields.

Murtaza is grateful to his fantastic advisors, Professor Beane and Professor Karch, for their outstanding guidance and support throughout his research career.

Murtaza’s near and long-term goals: After graduation, Murtaza plans to pursue a PhD in Physics. Subsequently, he aims to seek a research-based career within Physics, specializing in topics from quantum gravity to elementary particles.

Murtaza’s Tips for Future Applicants: Focus on your strengths and try to get as much feedback on your application as possible before the deadline. Write about your research experiences and how they have shaped your mindset and your future career.

Chloe Winston

Chloe is a junior at the University of Washington, Seattle, studying Neuroscience and Computer Science. She has a long-standing interest in neuroscience and in understanding the complexity of the nervous system. Prior to joining the University of Washington, Chloe began exploring how computation can be applied to modeling the brain and developing clinical applications such as neuroprosthetics. Intrigued by the intersection of computer science and neuroscience, she began studying artificial intelligence, neural coding, and neuroscientific data analysis.

At UW, Chloe has been involved in research projects including studying the role of microglia (immune cells in the brain) in health and in Alzheimer’s Disease. Chloe also has pursued her research interest in computational neuroscience through the UW Undergraduate Trainee Program in Neural Computation and Engineering. Currently, she is working on a research project at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, working under Dr. Stefan Mihalas and Dr. Eric Shea-Brown to probe the role of diverse cell types in the brain using artificial neural networks. This experience has enabled Chloe to learn more about computational modeling of neurons and networks in the brain, and she is thrilled to be involved in this field.

Chloe plans to continue her research both in computational modeling of the brain and in mechanisms of neurodegeneration. She believes that computational modeling of the brain can open opportunities to computationally study treatment options for diseases including dementia.

Chloe’s near and long-term goals: After graduation, Chloe hopes to pursue an MD-PhD in Neurology at the University of Washington and conduct research in Alzheimer’s Disease while practicing Neurology. In doing this, she hopes to combine computational modeling and pathology research in her clinical practice.

Megan Bui

Junior, Electrical engineering major

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Jakub Filipek

Junior, Computer Science major

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Marium Raza

Junior, Biochemistry and Comparative History of Ideas majors

Honson Ling

Senior, Psychology (BS) and Sociology (BA) majors

Bernice Lin

Senior, Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology major

Julia Bauman

Junior, Neurobiology major

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Camille Birch

Junior, Bioengineering major

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Tyler Valentine

Junior, Physics, Earth & Space Science, Astronomy majors

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Yotam Ofek

Sophomore, Comprehensive Physics major

2021-22 Spence Scholars

Su Cho

I am a first generation, junior transfer student studying neuroscience. Looking around, I got to see how childhood environments and adversities shape children’s lives and their future. The fact that childhood experiences seemed to affect them silently most of the times while bringing either life-long nurtures or difficulties to their performances as adults struck and motivated me to study neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and the influences of brain chemicals in a deeper level. I am currently a research assistant in a brain research lab on campus and I enjoy reading, having interesting conversations with others, and spending time outside in the nature. ​​

Su’s near and long-term goals: I would like to be more engaged in brain development research for children and further study how early childhood experiences and environments affect children’s brain and their future. After all, my goal is to become a psychiatrist who suggests healthier ways to maneuver through mental hardships caused by the aftermath of childhood adversities and raises awareness for its everlasting impact.

Su’s tips for future applicants: Have confidence to show the path you took to get here. Reflect on various aspects of your past that shaped you to do what you are doing now. Connect with a scholarship adviser and receive some helpful feedback!

Elise Dorvilias

My name is Elise Dorvilias and I am a first generation college student. I was born and raised in southern Florida, by my mother, who is a Haitian immigrant. My family and I moved to Washington when I was about ten, but Florida will always be my home.

Before landing at UW, I attended Edmonds Community College where I earned my associates degree. Currently, I am a junior at UW majoring in the American Ethnic Studies (AES) with a concentration in African American studies. The AES major has allowed me to focus on supporting the community I love the most. Being a Black woman has empowered and enriched my lived experience and I couldn’t imagine being anything else. I encourage all students to take at least one AFRAM class to push back against the Eurocentric teaching standards that are normalized within our education system.

Along with my passion for Black community, I am also very passionate about reproductive justice. As I mentioned earlier, my family originates from Haiti, a country with a very underdeveloped healthcare infrastructure. Most women in my family have experienced difficult pregnancies. Some even leading to miscarriages and death, which is unfortunately common in the Black community. This is why post-baccalaureate, I want to pursue a masters in Public Health, so I can advocate that reproductive justice be implemented in all facets of healthcare. By investing in reproductive justice, we are dismantling white supremacy in healthcare and empowering and providing resources for those who have been harmed by it. In my free time, I enjoy trying new foods, traveling, and hanging out with friends.

Elise’s near and long-term goals: My near goal is to earn my bachelors degree next Spring then work until I can pay off my students loans before pursuing a master’s in public health.

Elise’s tips for future applicants: My tips is to go the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships, and Awards. They are so helpful and accommodating.

Michael Mayhew

After high school, I took an incredible opportunity to work at one of the largest commercial airlines in the world. The job took me all over the globe, where I began to appreciate the cultural and technological differences between nations. The contrast between the brightest lights of the most developed cities and the starry nights of remote villages with no light pollution reinforced my understanding that electrification and growing access to education and technology were critical to global welfare. The reliability of electronic devices and avionics onboard aircraft also impacted my ability to serve customers in my role with the airline. It was clear that the accomplishments of electrical engineers were present in the lives of everyone.

My wife encouraged me to pursue a BS-Electrical Engineering after moving to Seattle. I enrolled at North Seattle College in January 2019 to earn an Applied Physics degree with the goal of being accepted to the University of Washington as a transfer student. I am grateful for the opportunities that NSC provided to my family which allowed me to continue working full-time while attending classes. I would encourage anyone who wishes to be a non-traditional student to enroll at a Washington State Community College.

After acceptance to my major at UW, I decided to concentrate on Sustainable Power Systems. I understood that these courses would give me the best opportunity to help electrify the world while battling the climate emergency and promoting sustainability equity for communities where investments in renewables are lacking. I hope to first work with local utility companies, where I can promote the rollout of sustainable technologies in our own neighborhoods. I will also work to earn a graduate degree which will allow me to drive sustainability within larger populations.

The Alan R. Spence Support Fund Scholarship will allow me to focus on my final quarter at UW; rather than working extra hours to cover educational costs. I can ensure a strong finish for my undergraduate degree and am best prepared to apply for graduate school and jobs within the sustainable engineering sector.

Michael’s near and long-term goals: I have started applying for jobs within the sustainable energy sector. I hope to have the opportunity to grow sustainability and improve energy equity in communities. Upon employment, I will apply for graduate school and work to earn a Professional Engineer’s license.

Michael’s tips for future applicants: Be yourself; don’t hold back. Even if you dream the biggest dreams, share them and be ready to go achieve them.

Shirley Mendez

I am originally from Guatemala, I migrated to Seattle when I was 14 years old in 2012. I am also a first generation student. I am a parent and overall a person that likes to stay busy. I am extremely grateful to have attended an ESL High School that allowed me to meet amazing individuals that encourage me to pursue my dreams of attending college. While growing up I knew exactly I wanted to help individuals in the best way I could. I spoke with a high school counselor that guided me towards the social work degree. I am currently a Junior at the School of Social Work.

During my time at South Community College, I earned my Associates of Arts Degree. I graduated in 2021 while taking care of a newborn. This has been so far the most challenging part in my educational experience. Being a full time student and parent at the same time can bring a lot of stress and personal challenges. I am grateful to count with amazing support from classmates, professors and advisors.

I have applied for the Alan R. Spence Transfer Support Fund because I believe some transfer students might feel a little intimidated attending a different school with different opportunities. For some students, it might be an easier transition, and some might encounter challenges. At the School of Social Work, everyone feels welcomed and supported throughout the process. This scholarship is making a difference in both near and long term goals. As of now, it allows me to focus on my academics and parenting at the same time to make sure I am on track to graduate on time.

​​Shirley’s near and long-term goals: I aspire to continue working towards my MSW after culminating my BASW in 2023. I would like to work with youth in the foster care system to support each one to achieve wellbeing and prosperity.

Shirley’s tips for future applicants: I suggest transfer students that are or might apply for this scholarship to accommodate time in our busy schedules to attend a scholarship workshop. The University of Washington currently counts with a very strong writing support system that allows students to become better storytellers. Scholarship workshops also provide excellent feedback!

I am a first-generation, senior, transfer student pursuing my B.S. in Psychology. I have always been fascinated by the brain, how it translates into personality and the cognitive processes that govern who we are. Since becoming a student here at the university, I’ve had the honor of becoming the senior marketing manager of Grey Matters, UW’s neuroscience journal. I also currently work as an academic coach in Academic Support Programs, and in a lab running psychological research studies in the Foster School of Business. In my (little) free time, you can find me people watching, reading books on personality, and graphic designing (my career before UW!). I plan to pursue my graduate studies in psychological research and apply my research in schools and teach students how to be advocates for compassion and connection.

Kitty’s advice for future applicants:
Be genuine, honest, and completely yourself! Authenticity is the best thing for scholarship applications

I was born in Ebolowa, Cameroon. I was raised by a single mother with two older brothers. I moved to the US at the age of 18, not knowing a word of English.

My dream of all time is to become an MD/Ph.D. in Neurosurgery. I have been dreaming of becoming a researcher while working in the medical field for my very first day of middle school. I grew up thinking that college was not an option for me because of financial and family reasons. I have been working with all my being to make that dream come true since I have moved to America from learning the language to get more and more involved in research from as much as possible. I would love to go to UW MSTP program after I graduate.

After completing my Ph.D., MD and residency, I would love to take my summers off every year or so to affiliate myself with Doctors without Borders to go across the world provide care to people who have been forgotten and can’t afford care. I would love to run a lab while being a surgeon in a hospital focused on Neurosurgery. I want to run a lab in the domain of drug delivery for tumors that are not surgically removable and to pursue research on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

I would love to bring more joy and hope to the black community by showing them that there is hope for them to do great things. I want to show them that they are called for greatness and that there is so much more out there for them besides being a statistic. I have seen so much potential in the youth that I would like to give whatever I can to help them accomplish their dreams just as I am accomplishing mine.

Georges’ advice for future applicants:
Be yourself, own your story and be proud of all the work that you have accomplished this far in you academic career.

Through all the struggles I had growing up, the only coping mechanism I had was drawing. I would draw almost every day, and would create characters of my own. When I look back at my old drawings, I noticed how much I improved and wanted to do something greater with the passion I have for art. As time passes and technology continues to grow, I believe that art can be used in a variety of ways. I became heavily immersed in digital art, and kept self-teaching myself multiple times with YouTube videos and other tutorials on the internet. The passion I have for art was becoming stronger as I tried different types of materials and mediums. I recently discovered that not only could I focus on my major, but I can also mix in animation courses with it, which would not conflict with my schedule. The career goal I plan on pursuing is to become an animator or pair with a gaming company and help make designs. In order to fulfill this goal, I am currently majoring in Painting and Drawing along with taking animation courses. I know the career path I chose has a multitude of job openings available since it relies heavily on technology. I believe the courses towards this major would help me with gaining new skills, perfecting my old ones, and expose me to new opportunities. For my personal goals, I always want to keep improving as an artist, so I try to draw everyday and learn useful tips from other fellow artists. As a first generation student with an Asian background, my single parent mother has high expectations of me. Sadly, my mother is unable to support me financially through school and must rely on each paycheck to support our household expenses. Truthfully, this is why I began at a local community college first instead of attending UW right after high school. Even during community college I focused on practicing and taking courses to improve my work. With the support and connections around me, I am able to attain my realistic educational goals and be ready to join the professional world after graduating.

Hestum (Greetings)! My name is Maya Esquivido, and I am an enrolled member of the Nor Rel Muk Wintu Nation and Chicana. I was born and raised in Sacramento, California but relocated to the Pacific Northwest where I attended Seattle Central Community College. With the dream of pursuing higher education, I completed my Associate of Arts Degree and transferred to the University of Washington (UW). Entering UW in the American Indian Studies (AIS) Program, strengthened my dedication to helping tribal communities, and ignited my passion for social justice. The strength-based approach of AIS taught me to decolonize my frame of thought, allowing me to apply these fundamental concepts to my life and further education.

Through my undergraduate research and education, I have begun investigating the problematic issues that arise due to the denial of Native Nations seeking federal recognition. My current undergraduate research with Dr. Dian Million, an AIS professor, focuses on the absence of jurisdiction or statistical information on non-federal recognized tribes, as seen in the Indian Child Welfare Act. Following the completion of my Bachelor’s degree, I plan to pursue a Masters of Social Work and then continue on to complete a Ph.D. My ultimate professional goal is to become a university professor to aid in the efforts of decolonizing academia, as well as conduct research with my tribal community to influence policy change.

Maya’s tips for future applicants:
Start the application process early, and try not to rush it. Also, have someone proof read and edit your paper, it makes a huge difference.

I have always loved math and believed that math is the heart of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It is a way to view the world from a different perspective, filled with an underlying logic that is simply beautiful.

After completing my high school education in Iran, My family and I immigrated to the US. My passion towards math helped me overcome the challenges immigration brought to me and led me to continue my education at Edmonds Community College (CC) where I graduated with an Associate of Science degree with a focus in mathematics. Now, I am a junior at University of Washington majoring in Math. After receiving my Bachelor’s degree, I am eager to continue my path towards Masters in Math and PhD in Math Education.

I believe that institutionalized racism, classism, and other forms of oppression should not be predictors of educational outcomes. Personally, as a CC transfer student, I have experienced how having a smaller community provides a better environment for more face-to-face interactions with advisors, educators, and staff that can consequently, make these kinds of oppression fade away. Because of this personal experience of mine, I now value the importance of serving at a CC since it is a great step to help with undoing many forms of oppression. Thus, it is my career goal to become a mathematics instructor at a CC to dismantle these systems of oppression and break the confidence gap that stops students from pursuing their goals in the STEM fields.

To me, teaching math is the best way to show that I care and to contribute to the success of our community as a first generation immigrant female of color in STEM.

Tina’s tips for future applicants:
Our backgrounds as former community college students are valuable and empowering parts of us that we need to share with the world. The Alan R. Spence Transfer Support Fund gives us a great platform to share our community college journey with other students who are exploring the same path we once did. So, my tip to the future applicants is to share who you are and how your past, with all it brought to you, led you to who you are today. Your story is inspiring and can change a life, so be proud to share it!

Junior, Atmospheric Science (Climate Track)

Senior, Community, Environment, and Planning major

Junior, Political Science major

Community, Environment, and Planning major

Informatics major

Social Welfare major