For Mel Zhou, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) is where the micro-scale and the macro-scale converge.
A graduate of Rice University who majored in bioengineering, Zhou developed an interest in the ways that the smallest aspects of diseases like cancer can be influenced by traditional treatments and immunotherapy.
“I did research there for about two years with my PI, Julea Vlassakis, working on single-cell proteomics.”
Zhou described the ways in which proteins produced by individual cells can give insight into the development and progression of cancer mechanisms. She knew from there that she wanted to eventually pursue a PhD, but she wanted to find a program that delved more into the molecular level of treatment, in the vein of her research at Rice. This is what led her to the UChicago PME Master of Engineering program.
“What I really like about the program is that it’s newer, so they’ve done a really good job of carving out a niche for themselves regarding molecular engineering.”
In the Bio- and Immunoengineering Track, Zhou is continuing her study of the minutest aspects of medicine. She described working with Dr. Savas Tay, studying how cancers respond to stimuli on a cellular level in a microfluidic environment.
“We create platforms where we can study how cancers react at a micro-scale, and that tells us a lot about how patients will react individually to different therapeutics.”
Zhou related this to the immunoengineering side of the track, describing how the body’s natural defenses have capabilities to fight disease that simply cannot be replicated by invasive treatment.
“So an example would be Alzheimer’s or other neurodegenerative diseases. Getting into the brain is hard because there’s a blood brain barrier, but the immune system already has access to the whole body and brain.”
By harnessing the immune system, she explained, necessary care can be targeted without the added concerns of how to reach the afflicted area or rejection by the body’s natural defense system.
Outside of the academic aspect of the program, studying these building blocks of health and disease on the cellular level, Zhou enjoys taking advantage of the massive and myriad world of Chicago.
“I really like Chicago,” she said, “It’s such a big city with other young people, so it’s easy to make friends.”
When she isn’t researching cancer cells in microfluidic suspension, Zhou spends time taking in the city’s architecture, exploring the various neighborhoods, or browsing the farmers markets, all accessible by a public transit system for which Zhou had high praise.
Beyond the program, Zhou has been admitted to a PhD program in bioengineering at the University of Maryland and hopes to build upon the knowledge gained from her time in the Master of Engineering program.
--Learn more about the Master of Engineering program at UChicago PME