Tiana Naylor: 2024 Jack Welch Scholar
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Tiana Naylor, a biomedical engineering major with a minor in computer science, is a 2024 Jack Welch Scholar who received a merit scholarship funded by the GE Foundation and was honored during the undergraduate commencement ceremony at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday, May 21.
The award is named in honor of alumnus Jack Welch, who drew upon his UMass undergraduate education in chemical engineering to forge a legendary career as a business leader, serving for two decades as chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric.
During her time at UMass, Naylor, who is a first-generation college student, excelled in her research endeavors, qualifying for the dean’s list every semester. She also participated in sports including rock climbing, soccer, and volleyball.
Naylor spent two years working in professor Prabhani Atukorale’s research lab, which focuses on developing immunostimulatory lipid nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy. Her contributions will be included in the biomedical journal Science Translational Medicine, and she is an author on an additional manuscript that will be submitted in the upcoming months. She completed her honors thesis in the lab, determining the mechanisms of how multiple innate immune pathways synergize for their use in cancer immunotherapy.
As a research and development intern at Bluejay Diagnostics, Naylor collected and analyzed data to push a medical diagnostic device toward FDA approval. She was also a member of UMass Amherst’s chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society, where she served as secretary for two years, as well as the Society of Women Engineers and the UMass Biomedical Engineering Design Team.
In the fall, Naylor will begin her PhD at the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School, after which she hopes to continue research and work for a company that develops novel therapy options for complex diseases or pursue a postdoctoral fellowship and start a research lab.