Juliana Yang Joins the Newest Class of Governor's STEM Scholars
To say that third-year biomedical engineering major Juliana Yang is busy is an understatement. In addition to staying on top of her course work, the Albert Dorman Honors College student is director of public relations for the university’s Student Senate, academic chair of the Beta Eta Chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon and publications coordinator at the Office of Student Life. She also is a peer tutor in the Writing Center and steers the NJIT North American Disease Intervention (NADI), “a student health organization dedicated to raising awareness of hypertension and diabetes within the NJIT and Newark communities by providing the diagnostic and education tools necessary to lead a preventive lifestyle.”
For these accomplishments in leadership, along with her demonstrated interest in science, engineering, mathematics and technology (STEM) — which has included undergraduate research in NJIT’s Opto and Microfluidics Laboratory — Yang has been named a 2019-2020 Governor’s STEM Scholar. She is one of 95 students selected for the prestigious recognition, out of a statewide applicant pool of 500, from the 10th grade through the Ph.D. level.
The Governor’s STEM Scholars (GSS) program is a public-private partnership established in 2013 between the Governor’s Office, Research & Development Council of New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Education and Secretary of Higher Education, with the goal to further develop the state’s pipeline of STEM talent while promoting economic development.
“It is a great honor to have been named a Governor’s STEM Scholar,” said Yang, who after learning she had been chosen immediately notified her parents, her undergraduate research adviser Sagnik Basuray and the Opto and Microfluidics Laboratory team. “I am indebted to Rebecca Lubot, director of the Governor’s STEM Scholars program and the GSS Advisory Board for selecting me,” she added.
Since receiving the acknowledgment, Yang has joined her fellow scholars in networking with New Jersey STEM professionals, state policymakers, academic institutions and research organizations, and attending STEM conferences and field trips. She is participating in a team-based research project as well, involving microfluidics. Through the GSS program, Yang looks to give back, too, by holding STEM education workshops for homeless children and adults living in shelters. She hopes to implement this initiative next year.
“Being a Governor's STEM Scholar not only allows me to mentor like-minded high school students on a research project, but also exchange knowledge and experiences with students and academics from other institutions, government officials involved in my STEM education and representatives of New Jersey’s pharmaceutical companies,” she remarked.
Campus Activities and Career Aspiration
The Westfield resident opted to attend NJIT for its affordability and proximity to home. Her father, an IT consultant, and mother, a retired mathematician, are immigrants from Taiwan. Her older brother is pursuing a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry. Looking back on her time thus far at the university, she said, “I am glad I chose NJIT because of the many opportunities it has offered me that have contributed to my professional and personal growth.”
One of those opportunities was her research, supported by NJIT’s Provost Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Award. Under the supervision of Basuray, assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering, Yang created continuous-flow microfluidic cell culture systems for bacterial and eukaryotic cells, and assisted with running biosensors.
Another is her directorship of NJIT NADI, which she founded summer 2018. The organization’s mission to provide preventive health education, as well as recent diagnoses of prediabetes and hypertension in her family, drew her to become involved. “I also wanted to ensure that members of the NJIT and Newark communities are made aware that they, too, could be diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension if they did not start taking the proper preventative measures now,” said Yang.
Toward this end, NJIT NADI has held blood pressure screenings on campus, volunteered at a New Jersey Innovation Institute pop-up clinic at a local high school, and hosted a spring gala, diabetes awareness breakfast and health education workshops for adults and high school students.
After graduating, Yang plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. to become a physician-scientist, a vocation that will allow her to care for patients while also conducting research and teaching future medical practitioners. “While a physician can save a few thousand lives during their lifetime, a scientist can save generations of people,” she explained. “Utilizing the knowledge and skills I will obtain from this training, I hope to develop novel treatments which can improve quality of life.”
The GSS program should prove to be a valuable career boost for Yang. “Being a GSS team leader will certainly enable me to further develop my leadership and communication skills.”
Also on the GSS List
NJIT factored in the bios of six other 2019-2020 Governor’s STEM Scholars. Alumna Laura Osorno ’14 ’15 holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering, with an emphasis on biomaterials and tissue engineering. She also won three challenge accelerator programs at NJIT and Rowan University. She is now at the latter studying for her doctorate in biomaterials and drug delivery.
Additionally, five high school-level scholars have NJIT ties. One studied cell migration at the university; a second came in first in mathematics in a summertime mechanical engineering program; a third earned an NJIT “excellence in mathematics” award; a fourth participated in the New Jersey Chemistry Olympics, hosted annually at NJIT; and a fifth is working with a faculty member on generating DNA sequences using machine learning.
