Lily is the only student graduating with an Honors Baccalaureate Degree this semester!
She is a Chemistry (pre-pharmacy concentration) major and Biology minor. Her immediate post-graduation plan is to secure an internship or job in a hospital setting to gain more hands-on experience in healthcare. She is also preparing her application material for the upcoming Physician Assistant (PA) school admissions cycle. Her research skills and intellectual curiosity will certainly be assets to her in her future career in the medical field.
Lily started her journey in research long before she decided to write an Honors thesis. Her mentor, Dr. Salah Massoud,
recognized her passion and potential during her freshman year and offered her a position as an undergraduate researcher; she has been in this position since Spring 2023.
Her thesis explores Lanthanide – Cyclen complexes, which she argues have the potential to make major advancements in medical imagining device technology. In addition to her thesis, she is a named author on one fully published paper and another currently undergoing revision due to her contributions in Dr. Massoud’s lab.
She said she would suggest getting involved in research (as part of a lab, writing an Honors thesis, or both) to any undergraduate students thinking about pursuing a career in the medical field. She is hopeful that her publications and resume will make her stand out in the hyper-competitive PA school admissions process.
Writing her thesis helped change her perspective about herself as an academic and researcher. She was able to further her previous work, increasingly becoming more independent and taking ownership of her research. Her thesis defense was a poignant example of her changing position. She said she was able to feel like an expert among experts for the first time! Instead of occupying the student/mentor roles with her committee, she was able to envision them as potential future colleagues as well.