Blavatnik Doctoral Fellows: 2023-2024 Cohort
Natalie Ling, Department of Chemical Engineering
Natalie will start her Ph.D. in the chemical engineering program at Columbia University in the fall of 2023. As an undergraduate in Dr. Adrianne Rosales' lab at the University of Texas at Austin, she worked on characterizing the effects of peptomers on enzyme degradation. After spending a year working as an analyst in the financial sector supporting life sciences companies, Natalie is pursuing her passion for research. She is interested in further exploring different applications of biomaterial design, and learning more about how we can functionalize proteins for a more sustainable future.
Ronan McNally, Department of Electrical Engineering
Ronan recently graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. During his time there, he collaborated on research at the lab of Dr. Giovanni Traverso of Harvard Medical School developing novel ingestible and implantable medical devices. Following this, he worked within the robotic arm testbeds of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory that are advancing the landing module arm’s program for the Mars Sample Return Mission. These experiences, his interest in the interface between medical robotics and human biology, and a passion for remote healthcare motivated him to pursue higher education in electrical engineering. As an entering M.S./Ph.D. student within the Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia, Ronan is excited to be working with Dr. Ken Shepard and studying integrated circuit design with the ultimate goal of creating minimally invasive medical devices and advancing remote healthcare.
Bex Pendrak, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bex graduated from Cornell University in December 2022 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. In the fall, they will join the Mechanical Engineering department at Columbia as an M.S./Ph.D. student. As an undergraduate, Bex conducted research on how genetic mutations of Arabidopsis thaliana affect the mechanical properties of mature leaf tissue. They are excited to continue using their material mechanics background to study the interplay between biological and mechanical factors in tissue growth, development, and function. Bex is doing a rotation with Dr. Karen Kasza and Dr. Kristin Myers in their first year.
Ashley Shay, Department of Chemical Engineering
Ashley recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. As she found my footing as a researcher in my undergraduate years, she explored research opportunities ranging from cell biology (Rong Li Lab, JHU) to computational modeling of chemical engineering concepts (Donohue Group, JHU). However, her most formative experience was with Vaccitech, where she worked on their self-assembling synthetic nanoparticle platform (SNAPvax). It catalyzed her desire to apply my background in engineering to develop drug delivery platforms that address the need for curative therapies as well as improve implementation and access to such treatments. She is excited to be working towards her goals at Columbia University, where she will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering!