The 2023 HST Graduation
June 8, 2023
There were 54 clinician-scientists in this year’s graduating class, 35 attended the ceremony
Mindy Blodgett | HST
The graduating class of the 2023 Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST) gathered on May 24, to celebrate their accomplishments, at the MIT Media Lab.
The graduates, and their families and friends—as well as HST alumni, faculty, and staff—enjoyed congratulatory remarks from HST Associate Director Richard N. Mitchell, MD, PhD; Dean of the Harvard Medical School (HMS) George Q. Daley, MD (HST ’91), PhD; and Elazer Edelman, MD (HST ’83), PhD (HST ’84), Director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). Also participating in the ceremony were Wolfram Goessling MD, PhD, the co-director of HST at Harvard, and Collin M. Stultz, MD, (HST ’97), PhD, co-director of HST at MIT, and associate director of IMES (IMES is HST’s home at MIT).
There are 54 graduates in the 2023 class, with 35 attending the ceremony. Goessling and Stultz shared the presentation of the graduates of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Medicine, program; Julie Greenberg, PhD (HST’ 94), the Director of Education and Senior Lecturer, HST; and Daniel Solomon, MD, HST Associate Director for Clinical Learning, helped to distribute certificates of graduation to the Doctor of Philosophy, Medical Engineering/Medical Physics graduates.
Dean Daley, who called himself a “proud HST alumnus,” pronounced himself “unabashed” in believing that HST is the “country’s pre-eminent program centered on translational” education and research, and that it is a “barometer of the state of the health care system today.” He described how HMS, MIT and HST, are undergoing a “deep evaluation” of the HST curriculum, “which speaks volumes about the rapidly evolving biomedical environment,” calling the HST graduates, “the physician-scientists of the future.”
“As HST graduates, you are already in the vanguard…leading medicine into the future,” Daley asserted, naming such “truly dizzying” recent developments in research, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, including using ChatGPT—though he assured the graduates he did *not* use ChatGPT to write his speech.
In his remarks, Edelman invoked the legacy of Nicolaus Copernicus, the noted Polish astronomer, pointing out that he was also a physician, studying medicine at the University of Padua, which Edelman called the “HST of its day.” He said that Copernicus used his education to harness his understanding of medicine and pharmacology, and to synthesizing mechanics and health—leading to such advancements as a greater focus on the importance of fresh water, and the creation of innovative water supply systems, in his day.
Edelman told the graduates that “we celebrate you today” because you “have the capacity to change the world…harnessing your wisdom…as the essence of clinician-scientists.”
Taylor Cannon, an HST Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) graduate, who will be going on to conducting post-doctoral work at MIT, delivered the student address, speaking of the many pressures her fellow graduates have contended with during their years of study and research in the HST program.
She acknowledged that the graduates have worked hard—physically, emotionally, and mentally—in a taxing experience that has often been “exhausting…pushing through the periods of hard times.”
“We’ve emerged victorious,” Cannon said, adding, that they are relatively “unscathed,” having fought through “all the highs and lows” of being an HST student. She observed that she and her fellow graduates have been working to balance the demands of the work with a personal life, contending with the financial challenges that many students face—all while enduring a global pandemic. She expressed “gratitude to all of you, this is an incredible roomful of people, not just students—and I am humbled…graduation is a big step, it’s the start of our careers, with the common thread that we have all been supporting each other.”
Mitchell, the emcee of the ceremony, wore his customary HST graduation cap (a black Boston Red Sox hat with a tassel), and he sent the graduates off with various wishes for good luck, including: “May all your nights on call be filled with sleep.”
HST MD graduates also participated in Harvard graduation events on May 25, and graduates of the HST Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD program participated in the MIT School of Engineering Advanced Degree Ceremony, and hooding event, on May 31. However, their degrees were conferred on June 1, coinciding with the OneMIT commencement.
The HST 2023 Graduates:
Doctor of Medicine
Medical Sciences
Tim Caradonna, BS, PhD
Thesis Topic: Protein Engineering Strategies to Modulate B Cell Responses
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Brigham and
Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Brian Chang, BS, SM, PhD
San Juan Capistrano, CA
magna cum laude
Seidman Prize for Outstanding HST Senior Medical Student Thesis
Thesis Topic: Physiologic measurement using mechanical circulatory
support device signals and operation
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Eric Chen, BS, MS
San Diego, CA
cum laude
Thesis Topic: Development and Validation of a Deep Learning Model for
the Diagnosis of Neuropathic Corneal Pain from In Vivo Confocal
Microscopy
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, University of
California, San Francisco, CA
Wan Fung Chui, BA
Hong Kong, China
Thesis Topic: Clinical and Molecular Predictions from Human-
Interpretable Image Features in Cancer Histology Slides
Future Plans: Transitional Year Residency, Brockton-BIDMC, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Residency in Diagnostic
Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY
David Lawrence Cookmeyer, BS
Raleigh, NC
cum laude
Thesis Topic: Characterization of the Immune Infiltrate in Differentially
Staged Renal Cell Carcinoma
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Paul Dannenberg, SB, PhD
Thesis Topic: Scalable development of multiplexed microparticle
technologies for optical single-cell barcoding
Future Plans: Internship in Medicine-Preliminary, Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, Boston, MA; Residency in Radiology-Diagnostic, Massachusetts
General Hospital, Boston, MA
Natalia Drosu, BS, PhD
cum laude
Thesis Topic: CD4+ T cell responses to HLA-DRB1*15:01-restricted
Epstein-Barr virus antigens in patients with multiple sclerosis
Future Plans: National MS Society Post-Doctoral Fellow, Massachusetts
General Hospital, Boston, MA
Allison Hamilos, BS, PhD
Medfield, MA
Thesis Topic: Dynamic dopaminergic activity controls the timing of selftimed
movements.
Future Plans: Whitehead Fellow, Systems Neuroscience, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Jibril Kedir, BA, PhD
Baltimore, MD
Thesis Topic: Regulation of amino acid transport across the lysosomal
surface by the mTORC1 pathway
Future Plans: Research Track Internship and Residency in Anesthesiology,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Nira Krasnow, BS
Palo Alto, CA
Thesis Topic: Identifying changes in translation related to RPS15 mutation
in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, University of
California, San Francisco, CA
Diana Lu, BS, PhD
Newton, MA
Thesis Topic: Transcriptional Constraint Of EWS/FLI Promotes Ewing
Sarcoma
Future Plans: CEO, Ambrosia AI, Cambridge, MA
John G. Mikhael, SB, PhD
Dallas, TX
Thesis Topic: Dopamine and the Neurobiological Foundations of Learning
and Performance
Future Plans: Research Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Jacqueline Ohmura, BS, PhD
magna cum laude
Thesis Topic: Soft clustering analysis of primary open angle glaucoma loci
and their association with multiple endophenotypes uncovers
pathophysiological and cellular mechanisms of disease
Future Plans: Transitional Year Residency, Cambridge Health Alliance,
Cambridge, MA; Residency in Diagnostic Radiology, Brigham and
Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Kwadwo Owusu-Boaitey, BA, BS, PhD
Ellicott City, MD
HMS Multiculturalism Award
Thesis Topic: How, when, and where: fate selection in regenerative
planarians
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Psychiatry, Brigham and
Women's Hospital in Boston, MA
Manish Paranjpe, BA
Brookline, MA
magna cum laude
Thesis Topic: Neurocognitive trajectory and proteomic signature of
inherited susceptibility to Alzheimer's Disease
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Stanford
Health Care, Stanford, CA
Brian Joseph Pepe-Mooney, BS, PhD
magna cum laude
Thesis Topic: Two Tales From COVID-19: A Single-Molecule Analysis of
SARS-CoV-2 in the Liver Reveals Sinusoidal Viral Aggregates and Absent
Parenchymal Infection and Utilizing Virtual Reality in Medical Education
in Response to COVID-19 Driven Remote Learning
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine-PSTP,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Archana Podury, BA
Cupertino, CA
Thesis Topic: Early Neuronal Maturation in Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Probing Network Dynamics of Psychiatric Disease in Human Brain
Organoids
Future Plans: Internship and Residency, Otolaryngology-Head & Neck
Surgery, University of California San Diego Medical Center, San Diego,
CA
Julia Schiantarelli, BS
Newton, MA
cum laude
Thesis Topic: Examining spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the tumor
mutational landscape under the evolutionary pressure of treatment in
melanoma and papillary thyroid cancer
Future Plans: Internship and Residency, Pediatrics-Research track, Boston
Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
Ivy Shi, BS, BSE, MBA
cum laude
Thesis Topic: Propensity Score-Based Modelling in Real-World Claims
Data Reproduces Statin RCT Effect Sizes in Primary Prevention of
Myocardial Infarction
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center, Boston MA
Jowa (Zhuo) Shi, BA
Clifton Park, NY
cum laude
Thesis Topic: Identifying and Examining the Role of Exon-Mediated
Activation of Transcription Starts (EMATS) in Human Diseases
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Stanford
Health Care, Stanford, CA
Akansha Tarun, DPhil
Chicago, IL
Thesis Topic: A(SXL1) to Z(BTB33): How clonal hematopoiesis of
indeterminate potential (CHIP) mutations alter genomic expression in
hematopoietic cells.
Future Plans: Internship in Surgery|Prelim|Anesthesia and Residency in
Anesthesiology, Stanford Health Care, Stanford, CA
Alice T. Wang, BS
San Diego, CA
magna cum laude
Thesis Topic: Software-Assisted Characterization of Facial Vascularized
Composite Allograft (fVCA) Redness and Motor Function in Face
Transplant Recipients
Future Plans: Residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Johns
Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
Jason Ku Wang, BS, MGA
Los Angeles, CA
Thesis Topic: Molecular Phenotype Prediction Using Human-Interpretable
Image Features Derived from Densely Mapped Cancer Pathology Slides
Future Plans: Biotech Investor @ Paradigm BioCapital
Angela Zhang, BS, PhD
Chapel Hill, NC
Thesis Topic: Biomaterials-Inspired Advances to CAR T Cell Therapy:
Strategies to Recognize Tumors and Enhance T Cell Activity
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Stanford
Health Care, Stanford, CA
Yichen Zhang, BA
Vancouver, BC, Canada
magna cum laude
Thesis Topic: The Integrated Stress Response Contributes to the
Differential Neuropathogenesis of Endemic Zika Virus Strains in Human
Cerebral Organoids
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Stanford
Health Care, Stanford, CA
Carly Gail Kean Ziegler, BA, PhD
Atlanta, GA
magna cum laude
Henry Asbury Christian Award
Thesis Topic: Respiratory Barrier Function in Severe COVID-19: Lessons
on Epithelial Repair, Anti-Viral Immunity, and Immunopathology
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Pediatrics and Anesthesiology,
Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston,
MA
Hayley Zullow, BS, PhD
Ossining, NY
Thesis Topic: Dysregulation of mSWI/SNF (BAF) Complexes in Human
Malignancy
Future Plans: Internship and Residency in Pathology, University of
Chicago, Chicago, IL
Doctor of Philosophy
Medical Engineering/Medical Physics
Thomas J. Abitante, SB
Berkeley Heights, NJ
Thesis Topic: Evaluation of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation as a
Bone Loss Countermeasure on a Long Duration Mars Mission
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the War Related Illness
and Injury Study Center NJ, Department of Veteran Affairs
Emily Alsentzer, SB, SM
Nashville, TN
Thesis Topic: Few Shot Learning for Rare Disease Diagnosis
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Taylor Marie Cannon, BNG
Greensburg, PA
Thesis Topic: Volumetric Optical Imaging of Tissue Microstructure for
Grading of Dysplasia In Vivo
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA
Rebecca Carlson, SB
Thesis Topic: Functional Genomic and Image-Based Screening Approaches
for Probing Host-Pathogen Interactions
Future Plans: Scientist, Digital Biology
Grissel Cervantes Jaramillo, SB
Havana, Cuba
Thesis Topic: Suppression of the Ubiquitin Ligase Function of FBXW7
Accelerates Metastatic Progression of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Melinda Chen, SB
Baltimore, MD
Thesis Topic: QUiLT: Quantitative Ultrasound in Longitudinal Tissue
Tracking - Stitching 2D Images into 3D Volumes for Organ Health
Monitoring
Future Plans: Novel Trial Technology Lead, Takeda Pharmaceuticals,
Cambridge, MA
Ellen DeGennaro, BA
Fairfield, CT
Thesis Topic: Clonal architecture and genetic regulation of the developing
mammalian cerebral cortex
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mathematical Epidemiology
Indie Garwood, BNG
Albuquerque, NM
Thesis Topic: Probing the depths of unconsciousness with multifunctional
neurotechnology
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research
Efrat Goffer, SB
Tel Aviv, Israel
Thesis Topic: Optimization of Hybrid Hemodynamics from Mechanical
Support Devices in Cardiogenic Shock
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research, Harvard-MIT Biomedical
Engineering Center
Robert Gregory Hinshaw, SB
Proctorville, OH
Thesis Topic: Biological Modeling of the Neural Response to Space
Radiation and its Interaction with Alzheimer's Risk Genes
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research, NASA Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, CA
Katharina Viktoria Hoebel, SB, MD
Thesis Topic: Domain and User-Centered Machine Learning for Medical
Image Analysis
Neha Kapate, SB
Princeton, NJ
Thesis Topic: Engineering Myeloid Cell Phenotype
Using Cell Surface-Adhered Microparticles for Therapeutic Applications
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Researcher, Harvard University, Allston, MA
Sophia Liu, SB
Princeton Junction, NJ
Thesis Topic: Spatial and temporal dynamics of immune cell interactions
Future Plans: Early Independence Fellow at the Ragon Institute
Corina MacIsaac, SB
Phoenix, AZ
Thesis Topic: Overcoming Diffusion Limitations in Encapsulated Cell
Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
Stephanie McNamara, SB
North Attleboro, MA
Thesis Topic: Mechano-immuno-therapy for Skeletal Muscle Repair
Future Plans: Complete the MD portion of MD/PhD program and apply for
residency in Interventional Radiology
Keegan Leigh Mendez, BA, MPhil
Brooklyn, NY
Thesis Topic: Multifunctional soft robotic devices and cardiac benchtop
models for improved therapy delivery and development
Future Plans: HST MD Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Alex Miller, SB
Marietta, GA
Thesis Topic: A blood exchange method to study circulation kinetics of
tumor cells in the blood
Nathaniel Miller, SB
El Cerrito, CA
Thesis Topic: On Epitope-Paratope Interactions of Emerging to Endemic
Viruses
Future Plans: Drug Discovery Fellow, D. E. Shaw Research, New York,
NY
Mohamad Ali Najia, SB
Danvers, MA
Thesis Topic: Transposable elements and the regulatory logic of
hematopoietic differentiation
Jay Patel, SB
Cambridge, MA
Thesis Topic: Improving Segmentation Pipelines for Medical Imaging
using Deep Learning
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston, MA
Mitchell B. Robinson, SB
Willow Park, TX
Thesis Topic: Interferometric, acousto-optic modulated diffuse correlation
spectroscopy @ 1064 nm (AOM-iDCS) toward higher sensitivity, noninvasive
measurement of cerebral blood flow
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Athinoula A. Martinos Center
for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical
School, Boston, MA
Kristen Alexandra Rodrigues, SB
Cumberland, RI
Thesis Topic: An alum particle-based platform to enhance and investigate
humoral immune responses to immunization
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA
Hyun-Geun Song, BNG, MNG
Paju-shi, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Thesis Topic: Design and Control of Mechanoneural Interfaces for
Neuroprosthetic Limbs
Future Plans: Postdoctoral Research, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA
Sri Gowtham Thakku Venkateswaran, BNG
Thesis Topic: Modular CRISPR-diagnostics for infectious diseases
Future Plans: Scientist at Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA
Connor Verheyen, SB
Waterford, MI
Thesis Topic: Data-driven approaches for complex systems: leveraging
machine learning, materials science, and manufacturing for new biomedical
technologies
Future Plans: Co-Founder and CEO, Spheric Bio [early-stage startup],
Cambridge, MA
Lily Li-Wen Wang, SB, SM
Taipei, Taiwan
Thesis Topic: Macrophage-hitchhiking Anisotropic Microparticles for
Therapeutic and Diagnostic Applications
Certificate
Graduate Education in Medical Sciences
Maxwell Sherman, SB, PhD
Marblehead, MA
Thesis Topic: From genetics to disease: Algorithms to decode somatic
mutations
Future Plans: Co-founder & CTO, Serinus Biosciences