Kate Matlin
Pronouns: she/her
Graduation year: 2019
Hometown: Mountainside, NJ
Currently living in: Denver, CO
Current occupation: PhD Student at the Univ. of Colorado School of Medicine
What was your experience at CC like as an MB major?
Classes at CC were engaging. Class sizes were small, so there were ample opportunities to ask questions and spark discussions and professors made themselves available. There were also many opportunities to speak and present, which is still benefiting me. I had the opportunity to do research with Dr. Sara Hanson during a summer and for a block, where I had direct training from Dr. Hanson and was able to think about what a career in research might be like. I found the MB community at CC very supportive-- I was able to talk to professors when I was feeling burnt out or considering different careers and I was really grateful for one-on-one support and mentorship. Even when I was challenged in class, I still felt a sense of belonging in academic science, which ultimately led me to pursue my PhD.
Why were you interested in focusing on MB as your major?
I have always been fascinated by how much is unknown in science. I am interested in the molecular mechanisms that could lead to dysfunction and disease. I am specifically interested in cancer biology, so understanding fundamental molecular biology is central to understanding what goes wrong in a cancer cell.
How are you using your major in your post-CC life?
I am currently pursuing a PhD in Molecular Biology. Beyond the general knowledge I picked up as an MB major at CC, I really benefited from CC's emphasis on the intersectionality of topics and focus on learning how to tackle scientific questions rather than memorizing facts. I am currently studying translational regulation in cancer, and how this can lead to cancer metastasis. My project spans many topics: I am comentored by Dr. Neelanjan Mukherjee, who studies translation regulation using highly computational methods, and Dr. Heide Ford, who studies cancer and development. Because of my training at CC, I felt comfortable and excited to take on an intersectional project for my PhD thesis.
Before starting my PhD, I took three gap years focusing on public health. In addition to MB, I pursued public health during my time at CC; I spent a semester studying community health and social policy in Durban, South Africa, and was engaged in the campus club, GlobeMed. Because of these experiences, I was also prepared for a career in public health. After graduating, I worked at a nonprofit called the OMNI Institute, which focuses on data evaluation and visualization for public health and social justice organizations. I was then awarded a two-year fellowship position with the CDC through their Public Health Associate Program, where I was primarily stationed at Immunize Colorado and worked on vaccine education. Both of these experiences expanded my skills in data visualization, science communication, and coding-- all of which I have applied to my work in a PhD program.