Katy MacKay University Fellows Endowed Fund

Throughout my summer fellowship, I spent my time in the Metamorphosis Lab researching Xenopus laevis tadpoles and how their immune system remodels during natural metamorphosis. Our research focused on the thymus gland as it is responsible for the development of T-cells, which protect the body against pathogens. The changes in microanatomy of the thymus were determined using multiple laboratory techniques.

For summer of 2025, I have worked on polishing a first draft of the feature-length screenplay "A Mediterranean Tale" and developing a second draft for the same one. This experience has enhanced and refined my skills as a creative writer, in addition to improving my storytelling skills. Moreover, writing this script has helped me reconnect with my inner self, my roots, an my background of being an international student. 

This summer I was granted a fellowship to work under the supervision of Dr. Adam E. Fox in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB) lab. The focus of the project was possible time perception abnormalities in females with comorbid ADHD and PTSD. Both disorders have a substantial societal cost, their combined financial burden can be estimated at $355 billion in the United States in 2018 (Schein et al., 2022; Davis et al., 2022). Research has shown that patients with ADHD are at a greater risk of developing PTSD later in life (Wendt et al., 2023).

The topic of my research is abroad experiences effects on education inequality for pre-health students. This project consists of analyzing pre-health and especially pre-med student’s experiences of participating in a pre-health environment abroad. My research questions are how do health-related international programs and/or lab courses benefit pre-health professions students? And, due to access problems, how do these programs perpetuate inequality in the medical system?

As social media has become ubiquitous in today's society so too has disinformation, extremism, and political polarization. Is human nature to blame for these challenges to society and democracy, or has social media played a part in exacerbating these issues? In this research paper, the goal was to outline how social media content moderation creates echo chambers, incentivizes the spread of disinformation, facilitates political polarization, and pushes the collective United States toward extremism.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder resulting in symptoms such as resting tremors, muscle rigidity, and impaired balance. Familial PD has been found to result from mutations in the gene for the protein α-synuclein and accumulation of α-synuclein is found in familial and sporadic cases of PD. Prior research found that the chemical mannitol has a neuroprotective effect in a Drosophila model of PD. For my research project, I used a C.

This research explores the social, political, and economic implications of the CFA franc currency in Francophone West Africa. The CFA franc has been used by Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Togo, and Guinea-Bissau since French colonialism. However, it was announced in December of 2019 that a new currency named the Eco will come to replace the CFA franc.