B.S., University of Virginia (2004)
Ph.D in Biological Engineering,  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (expected 2009)

from: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
now: Cambridge, MA

“Since graduating from U.Va., I have been working toward a Ph.D in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT.  For my thesis, I study mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for tissue engineering applications.  These non-controversial adult stem cells hold great promise for bone and cartilage regeneration at wound sites such as fractures.  My research aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which these cells facilitate the wound healing process.

“Outside of the classroom and laboratory, I intern in the office of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts researching and analyzing health care policy as well as responding to constituents’ letters related to health care.  With health care reform, a major topic of discussion, the work is always relevant and constantly changing.  This valuable experience has solidified my desire to pursue science and/or health policy as a career after receiving my Ph.D.

“Because of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, I was able not only to attend U.Va., but to attend with a wide variety of experiences not readily available to other college undergraduates.  The leadership development program, summer study experience in Europe, special lectures, my fellow Scholars, and other programs provided by the Foundation all contributed to my academic and social education.  In an engineering curriculum, it is easy to lose sight of anything not math and science related.  However, with the sheer breadth of opportunities available to me at the University, many through the the Foundation, I became engrossed in the wide-ranging effects of science and engineering not just on technology, but on our society as a whole.

“I give to the Foundation so that many generations of students to come can become worldly leaders and scholars, so that they can benefit as much as I have.”