2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarship
Kaitlyn Ramesh, E’25, bioengineering, received the 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious, merit-based awards for undergraduate students who plan to pursue research careers in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.
As a third-year student, Kaitlyn Ramesh aspires to earn a PhD in computational biology to investigate the gene regulatory mechanisms underlying tissue regeneration. Through developing computational tools and examining genomics data, she hopes to advance the field of precision medicine and expand treatment options in healthcare.
Ramesh was introduced to computational biology in her first year when she joined the lab of Mingyang Lu, assistant professor of bioengineering. She developed a bioinformatics algorithm that analyzes single-cell gene expression data to infer the kinetics of gene expression changes that drive macroscale biological processes, such as wound healing. Her work on the algorithm was funded by the PEAK Ascent Award and AJC Merit Research Scholarship through Northeastern’s Undergraduate Office of Research and Creative Endeavors.
To further explore quantitative biology, Ramesh completed a Research Experience for Undergraduates at Harvard University, where she joined the Prigozhin Lab to build a novel microfluidic device that captures ultrafast intracellular processes and provides insight into drug response. In addition to her independent research endeavors, Ramesh has collaborated with her peers in the College of Engineering to build an injury-prevention EMG sleeve. Ramesh also enjoys mentoring students through the Women’s Research Engagement Network (WREN) and is a member of No Limits Dance Crew.
View the full story: Goldwater Shares Her Research Experiences
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