Class of 2016
Blake Smith has worked in cell biology labs since he was 16, first at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and now at Yale Medical School.
As a high school junior, he won first place in the category of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for his research on a type of molecule that could help in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Over the course of two summers and almost 2,000 hours, Smith worked with another high school student on a project that inhibited two highly-activated pathways in the most common form of lung cancer. They created drugs that showed a response to a resistant form of lung cancer in mice, with minimal side effects.
He later published an article on his research, which was the first literature published on the topic in a scientific journal. This research earned 4th place at the Siemens Competition.
Smith is a writer for the Yale Scientific Magazine and is heavily involved in the various Model United Nations organizations on campus.
He hopes to pursue a MD/PhD joint degree, work as a medical oncologist, and continue his research on lung cancer throughout the way.
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