Katherine W. (IN A NUTSHELL)

Katherine is currently pursuing a double major in Biochemistry and Economics with a minor in Healthcare Management at the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout high school, she was heavily involved in conducting scientific research. During her senior year, she studied the effect of mechanosensory stimulation on olfaction in honeybees by dissecting their brains and using silicon-based multichannel probes to collect neuronal responses. Her work is published in Frontiers in Physiology, a high impact academic journal. She also has experience in bioinformatics, particularly in using techniques to analyze differentially expressed genes between Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease.

At Penn, she's currently working two research positions, one with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the other with Penn Med. Due to her past experience with cardiomyopathy, she hopes to learn more about the pathology and find better treatments and pharmaceuticals for the cardiovascular disease, so both her current projects revolve around cardiology.

Beyond her science side, she also loves to write poetry and paint, both of which she's received a Scholastic National Silver Medal in. Her writing has also been recognized by other prestigious organizations such as the YoungArts Foundation, Princeton University, and Foyle Young Poets of the Year. For Katherine, creative writing is a form of catharsis and her favorite avenue of expression because of how thoroughly words through poetry can convey a feeling that simply can't be captured in any other way.

At UPenn, Katherine is currently involved in the Penn Social Entrepreneurship Movement, Wharton Asia Investments, Consult for America, Penn Undergraduate Biotech Society, Penn Neuroscience Society, and more.

In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, longboarding, and hanging out with her friends. Katherine's also loves the MCU, Broadway, K-dramas, and of course, boba.