Rotary Global Grant Scholarship

Karen recently graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a BS and MS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Although she has lived in several places such as Las Cruces, NM, she considers Houston, TX, her home, where she has resided for the past 17 years. As an aspiring physician-scientist, Karen is interested in the intersection between biotechnology, medicine, and social policy, especially with respect to the development of affordable treatments for cancer and access to healthcare among marginalized populations. Karen has conducted research at several institutions including MIT and Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. At MIT, Karen worked with a team of researchers and uncovered the mechanism by which pancreatic cancer drives tissue wasting in clinical patients. This work was later published in Nature, with Karen as a co-author. At Yale, Karen developed a novel imaging technology to characterize metabolic profiles for cancer cells with varying mutations.

Although Karen spends a significant amount of her time in the laboratory, she devotes her weekends to volunteering at HAVEN Free Clinic, a student-run clinic servicing the undocumented and uninsured. Karen has been a volunteer for four years in the social services department, where she helps patients secure access to lifesaving medications, debt-free medical care, free grocery delivery, and rent assistance. She is a firm believer in addressing health from multiple dimensions, including the social, and aspires to craft effective measures to improve access to quality healthcare in under-resourced communities at home and abroad. Karen is also active in several organizations such as the Yale Hunger & Homeless Action Project and STEM & Health Equity Advocates, which she co-founded and serves as co-director. She is also a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, a Rosenfeld Science Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa member, and the recipient of several prizes and fellowships.

With generous support provided by the Rotary Global Grant Scholarship, Karen is grateful and excited to begin the next step of her journey studying Global Health Science & Epidemiology at Oxford. This program will equip her with the knowledge and skills to pursue her goal of treating non-communicable diseases like cancer in a manner that also prevents disease, enhances public health education, and promotes the long-term well-being of communities.