MIT senior Katie Spivakowski has been chosen as a 2026-27 Churchill Scholar and can pursue a grasp’s diploma in organic sciences on the Wellcome Sanger Institute on the College of Cambridge, UK, this fall.
Spivakowski, a double main in organic engineering and synthetic intelligence and minors in arithmetic and biology, goals to combine computational and bioengineering into an instructional analysis profession centered on creating strong and scalable options that promote equitable well being outcomes.
At MIT’s Bathe BioNanoLab, Spivakowski is researching the therapeutic purposes of DNA origami, DNA scaffold nanoparticles for gene and mRNA supply, and co-authored a manuscript in print. science. She is main the event of immunotherapies for most cancers cachexia with a group supported by MIT’s BioMakerSpace. This analysis gained a silver medal on the worldwide artificial biology competitors iGEM. MIT Undergraduate Analysis Journal. Beforehand, he labored on Merck & Co.’s Modeling and Informatics group characterizing mutations in cancer-related proteins and on the New York Middle for Structural Biology bettering cryogenic electron microscopy particle detection fashions.
On campus, Spivakowski serves as director of undergraduate initiatives for the MIT Biotechnology Group. She is enthusiastic about educating and mentoring and serves as teacher and co-director for sophistication 6.S095 (Stochastic Drawback Fixing), educating assistant for courses 20.309 (Bioinstrumentation) and 20.A06 (Bioengineering Apply), laboratory assistant for six.300 (Sign Processing), and affiliate advisor.
“Katie is an impressive researcher with a eager mental curiosity and might be a future chief in bioengineering,” mentioned Kim Benard, affiliate dean for distinguished fellowships. “We’re proud that she is going to symbolize MIT at Cambridge.”
The Churchill Scholarship is a extremely aggressive scholarship that provides 16 American college students annually the chance to pursue a postgraduate diploma in science, arithmetic or engineering at Churchill Faculty on the College of Cambridge. Established in 1963, this scholarship honors former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s imaginative and prescient for scientific alternate between the US and the UK. Since 2017, two Kanders Churchill Scholarships have additionally been awarded annually for analysis in science coverage.
MIT college students focused on studying extra in regards to the Churchill Scholarship ought to contact Kim Benard in MIT Profession Advising and Skilled Improvement.

