Heather is from Papillion, NE, and is studying biology, chemistry, and medical humanities. Her non-profit experience includes partnering with Prairie STEM, a program committed to inspiring STEM education in girls. As a community action project, her team created a Leadership in STEM series for girls aged 10-14. The series helps girls navigate through their STEM journey by developing leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and igniting a love for STEM. Her internship experience includes working for the National Security Innovation Network through the U.S. Department of Defense. Her team developed a program to lower the attrition rates of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Denver Recruiting Station. They created a curriculum to improve resiliency within the recruits. This curriculum is currently being implemented within the station. She also interned with the Munroe Meyer Institute in collaboration with UNMC College of Dentistry. Her team is designing a dental clinic to cultivate a dental experience for neurodivergent patients. The goal is to ensure patients feel safe, autonomous, and comfortable in the dental setting. This summer, she will be working at CHI Health as a patient companion. Her research experience includes studying the use of microRNAs in neuroblastoma at the UNMC Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. She has now expanded her research experience by writing a chapter for a book to be published in collaboration with her faculty mentor, Dr. Kishore Challagundla, and other researchers. The chapter covers the role of exosomes as players of therapy resistance in neuroblastoma. Her career interests include working in the field of medicine as a physician, specializing in pediatric oncology and hematology, as well as continuing to learn through both the clinical and research aspects of medicine.
