Graduating senior Sofia Willey spent the last four years taking advantage of the undergraduate research opportunities that Clemson and the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry offer studying her own rare genetic disorder, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a disorder that affects the connective tissue and can cause weak joints.
In addition to her research, Willey is a member of the Kappa Delta sorority, vice president of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a national health pre-professional health society and volunteers for Tigers4Accesibility.
In the future Sofia hopes to change patients’ lives through knowledge of under-recognized diseases. Doctors’ limited knowledge of the disorder is due in part to the EDS being under-researched. This has inspired Sofia to pursue a degree in genetics and focus on research while in college.
Sofia will be taking a deferral year and starting medical school at the University of South Carolina Greenville in 2026.
