Natacha Comandante Lou will be participating in the 2015 MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP). She will work with Dr. Michael Mitchell in the Langer lab of MIT’s Biological Engineering Department for two months.
The MSRP started in 1986 as an institutional effort to address the issue of underrepresentation of African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans and Puerto Ricans in engineering and science in the United States. Today, this program identifies talented sophomores, juniors and non-graduating seniors who might benefit from working on research with MIT faculty, postdocs and graduate students. Participants engage in research collaboration, networking with fellow students and receive a weekly stipend, as well as round trip travel expenses paid. Learn more about the MSRP.
Natacha is a junior international student. She is a Mary Gates Research Scholar and was recently selected as a 2015-16 student officer for UW’s chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). She has been involved in research in Dr. Kim Woodrow’s lab since she was a sophomore, where she is developing nano-particulate vaccine that increases vaginal mucosal immunity against STIs. She is an undergraduate research leader for UW’s Undergraduate Research Program, and through this role she helps promote undergraduate research, particularly in the international student community. In her spare time, she likes playing the piano, going to symphonies and playing badminton.