{"id":156955,"date":"2024-10-24T17:16:14","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T21:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/?p=156955"},"modified":"2024-11-06T17:49:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T22:49:11","slug":"awards-recognize-student-leaders-achievements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/2024\/10\/24\/awards-recognize-student-leaders-achievements\/","title":{"rendered":"“A Force of Nature”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winner of two prestigious scholarships to present research at BMES Annual Meeting<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Patrick L. Kennedy<\/strong><\/p>\n

An undergraduate presenter at this weekend\u2019s Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Zeynep Haciguzeller (ENG\u201925) is a student leader who this year earned not one but two prestigious scholarships.<\/p>\n

Haciguzeller, a biomedical engineering senior and Kilachand Honors College student, was one of just 253 engineering students nationally\u2014out of 1,328 applicants\u2014selected for the 2024\u201325 Tau Beta Pi (TBP) Scholarship. The award from TBP, the engineering honor society, recognizes scholarship, campus leadership and service, and demonstrated promise of future contributions to the engineering profession.<\/p>\n

Case scholarship as well<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In addition, Haciguzeller holds a 2024\u201325 Harold C. Case Scholarship, one of Boston University\u2019s highest distinctions for undergraduates. The Case scholarship is also granted on the basis of scholarly accomplishment, potential, and extracurricular leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur selection committee for the Case Scholarship was impressed by Zeynep<\/span>\u2019s sustained intellectual and community engagement across her time at BU,\u201d says Jeffrey Berg, BU\u2019s director of national and international scholarships. \u201cShe is pursuing her undergraduate experience at BU to the very fullest, and we can\u2019t imagine a more fitting recipient of the Case Scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n

A record of research<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As a freshman, Haciguzeller worked in the lab of Assistant Professor Michael Albro<\/a> (ME<\/a>, MSE<\/a>, BME<\/a>), optimizing growth factor delivery for cartilage tissue engineering. As a sophomore, she worked on modRNA delivery for radiation burn wound healing at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Wilson Wong (BME)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since last year, Haciguzeller has been working with Associate Professor Wilson Wong<\/a> (BME) on self-amplifying RNA for the development of longer-lasting vaccines. \u201cSelf-amplifying RNA is able to replicate itself through its own machinery, which enables us to avoid multiple dosage shots,\u201d Haciguzeller says. \u201cIt\u2019s very important and useful because it makes the treatment accessible and affordable for everyone. In every project we\u2019re doing in synthetic biology, that\u2019s what we need to focus on: affordability and accessibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cZeynep is an extraordinary, ambitious, and hard-working biomedical engineering student with a focus and dedication to succeed in her endeavors,\u201d says Wong.<\/p>\n

Contributing to the community<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"\"
The Turkish Student Association at BU’s Splash event.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond her research, Haciguzeller serves as president of the BU Turkish Student Association, a club she first joined to help with relief fundraising efforts after an earthquake struck her native Turkey. And she is co-president of the BU chapter of the Dream Program, mentoring youngsters in public housing in nearby Allston. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to close the opportunity gap,\u201d she says, \u201cbasically trying to show the youth that college is an attainable goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the extracurricular activity might sound like a lot to pile on top of her lab work and course load, Haciguzeller says, \u201cI see it as a responsibility, of course, but not as a burden.\u201d With the Dream Program, especially, she says she is paying it forward, as her parents encouraged her childhood STEM inclinations. \u201cThey bought me toys like anatomy skeletons, chemistry kits\u2014I was always doing experiments in the kitchen, mixing stuff. That basically cultivated my whole curiosity for science.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the future holds<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"\"
Christopher Chen (BME)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cZeynep is a force of nature,\u201d says Professor Christopher Chen<\/a> (BME), Haciguzeller\u2019s academic advisor and mentor. \u201cEnergetic, thoughtful, and committed to pushing her own limits, she has demonstrated a true passion for research. I can\u2019t wait to see what she does as she continues on her journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haciguzeller already held a Trustee Scholarship, BU\u2019s most prestigious merit scholarship covering full tuition and fees. She will use her TBP and Case funds for expenses, such as doctoral program applications. She plans to pursue a career in research, likely in nanotechnology and synthetic biology.<\/p>\n

At the BMES meeting<\/a> on Saturday, Haciguzeller will be presenting on the creation of interferon-reporter gene constructs for improved in vitro screening of RNA immunogenicity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She’s earned two prestigious scholarships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2662,"featured_media":156956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[236,899,1068,908,1042,1000,1080],"tags":[354,672,633],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156955"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156973,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156955\/revisions\/156973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}