Sophia Ty, a biomedical engineering undergraduate student who will graduate in May 2023, has been named a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholar.
The Undergraduate Scholars Program (UGSP) is highly competitive. Ty was one of only 15 students chosen as UGSP Scholars for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Ty, who is double majoring in biochemistry in the College of Natural Sciences, will receive a scholarship of $20,000 as well as the opportunity to work as a paid research trainee at the NIH after graduation.
Ty's studies are focused on the computational biomedical engineering track, and she has participated in research with multiple principal investigators in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
In Professor Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez’s lab, Ty collaborated on a project to develop a polymer matrix to induce bone healing. After that she worked on improving skin cancer surgery with co-investigators James Tunnell and Mia Markey, where she contributed to a project that will automate a process for surgeons and pathologists to determine whether or not tissue is cancerous. Currently she is working with Professor Tom Yankeelov on mathematically modeling breast cancer cells to predict how they will grow and respond to therapy.
She also contributes to student experiences in the Department of Biomedical Engineering while working as a peer advisor. She says interacting with Texas BME faculty has been transformational to her time at UT.
