Even before the fall quarter of her first year at UCLA, Shannon Wongvibulsin was already working as a UCLA undergraduate researcher trying to figure out the best way to study biomaterials and regenerate body tissues.
Her dedication paid off this year. The third-year bioengineering student was one of 272 students who were awarded the Barry Goldwater Scholarship earlier this year. She is the only UCLA student to receive this year’s award.
The prestigious scholarship was established by the US Congress in 1986 to honor former Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater and his interest in science and technology. As a part of the award, which recognizes her performance and desire to pursue a career as a scientist and an engineer, Wongvibulsin received $7,500 for next year’s tuition.
For the scholarship application, Wongvibulsin said she described her research on tissue engineering, which she started during her second year at UCLA. Her research uses sugar to make three-dimensional molds that regenerate tissues inside the body.
“(The Barry Goldwater Scholarship) is a great accomplishment for me, and is definitely the most prestigious award I have been selected for,” Wongvibulsin said.
Wongvibulsin works with Professor Benjamin Wu, who is the chair of the UCLA Bioengineering Department.
She said she met Wu during the 2010 UCLA Engineering Open House – before she enrolled at UCLA – and expressed her interest in starting research over the summer before her first year at UCLA.
Wongvibulsin uses her own rationale while researching instead of following directions blindly, which Wu said is one of her strengths.
“She takes notes, thinks and is curious. It is fun to work with students who are always on their feet,” Wu said.
Erik Reinertsen, who graduated from UCLA in 2012, worked in the same lab as Wongvibulsin and said he was always impressed by the way Wongvibulsin devoted her time in the lab and handled academics at the same time.
“It’s really cool and unique that she is interested in community health and wellness. She looks at medicine from a very different angle,” Reinertsen added.
When she is not doing research or in class, Wongvibulsin tries to make time for her other hobby: writing.
She is the editor-in-chief and director for Total Wellness magazine – a quarterly publication run by the Student Wellness Commission at UCLA.
She said putting her thoughts down on paper helps her switch gears from academics and get into a different mindset.
In order to be successful in academics and research, she said younger students should find out what they are really passionate about and seek good mentors for both guidance and support.
Wongvibulsin is currently working on her applications for medical school in order to pursue a MD-PhD program, which she hopes will help her mix her passions for research, engineering and medicine.
“I hope to bridge the gap between bedside and bench-side research,” she said.