Junior biochemistry major Gia Kennedy always knew she wanted to study abroad in college.
“In junior high I remember thinking about it and wanting to go to either Greece or Spain. After that, it kind of became a given; it wasn’t a possibility, it was something I knew I wanted and would be doing in college.”
This semester, Gia made those dreams come true through Clemson’s CEA CAPA Science and Engineering Program in Alicante, Spain. As a biochemistry major and a Spanish studies minor, this program fit Gia’s course of study perfectly.
Gia takes Cellular Biology, Plant Biodiversity, Ecology, and B1 Spanish at the University of Alicante. The innovative and dynamic University of Alicante (UA) allows you to attend class and activities with Spanish and other international students for an integrated experience. UA also offers modern buildings, green areas, sports facilities, a 24-hour library, a museum, and commercial galleries.
“After classes, I’ll come home and make dinner and will usually hang out with my roommate and have our other friends over or go sit on the beach and talk together.”
Gia typically spends the weekends in different places, exploring, touring and taking in new cultures.
“We’ve gone to small Spanish cities, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, London, and I just spent my 20th birthday in Switzerland! We always fly the cheap airlines so I’m usually walking around the airport in my nice dinner shoes and sweatpants and carrying an extremely overpacked bag which I think is funny.”
Gia’s family has even flown in, and they have visited Mallorca together. Other places that Gia has visited during her stay in Spain include Paris, Nice, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, the Canary Islands, Portugal, Amsterdam and Greece.
“Besides traveling, during the week when I have free time I’m most often at the beach. The beach is a ten-minute walk from my apartment, so I’ll go there and meet with friends to swim, tan, pass a soccer ball or just hang out.”
This experience has meant a lot to Gia, who is Hispanic and wanted to learn more about and immerse herself into the language and cultures in Spain.
“Overall, studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life and I cannot recommend it enough. I really love it here and already do not want to go back.”
Victoria Cipollino
Victoria Cipollino is a junior biochemistry major studying abroad this semester in Florence, Italy.
Originally from Northport, NY in Long Island, Victoria loves Clemson and participates in many different activities around campus.
“I am involved in bioinformatics research with Dr. Alex Feltus, America Reads tutoring, an FCA small group and Collegians for Christ.”
Currently, Victoria is studying at abroad through one of Clemson’s third-party programs, which are coordinated by other universities and study abroad organizations. She is studying at the Institute of Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy (LdM). LdM is noted as one of the most distinctive and well-established study abroad institutions in Italy.
“A typical day for me includes attending my classes in the heart of Florence, enjoying a cappuccino and cooking dinner with my roommates.”
In her free time, Victoria enjoys taking long walks and exploring the markets at Mercato Centrale, where she can find fresh fruit, pasta and sauces. She also loves traveling around other cities in Italy.
“Traveling by train on the weekends is incredibly easy, with so many nearby cities to visit. This weekend, I’m deciding between Livorno and Venice! Florence offers excellent public transportation and endless places to explore, making it the perfect city for my study abroad experience.”
Victoria is working to become fluent in Italian, and there is no better place to practice. For Victoria the choice to study abroad was easy and the choice of Italy was an easier one.
“I chose to study abroad because I love meeting people from different cultures and experiencing new environments. Italy, in particular, holds a special place in my heart, as I grew up immersed in Italian culture.”
Senior biochemistry major Mary Grace Flowers has been selected to attend the 19th annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference at the University of Pittsburgh on March 28-30th. Only 5 students from each university are chosen to attend.
The ACC Meeting of the Minds is an annual research conference celebrating undergraduate research and creative inquiry at the 18 Atlantic Coast Conference member schools, including Clemson University and seeks to highlight undergraduate excellence in research and creative scholarship across many fields.
Mary Grace will be presenting a poster titled “Examining the role of sex in bone remodeling using differential feeding stresses.” Her research investigates bone remodeling in the facial skeleton using a cichlid fish model because these fish have immense range of facial diversity and have shown a significant capability for craniofacial bone remodeling.
The University of Pittsburgh says, “The weekend of events is designed to provide students with the opportunity to share their work, connect with peers from other institutions, to learn from and with each other, and of course to have some fun!”
Everyone wish Mary Grace luck at the Meeting of the Minds later this month!
Senior biochemistry major Albash Kahan was awarded first place in the 2025 J.T. Barton Jr. Memorial Ethics Award, which recognizes outstanding students who show exceptional ethical leadership and a commitment to advancing good decision-making on campus.
Originally from Florence, SC, Albash chose our biochemistry program to help reach his goal of becoming a nephrologist. His passion for nephrology and internal medicine comes from personal experience, his family having dealt with diabetes and kidney problems.
Academically, Albash has been involved in the Hunting for Novel Antibiotics Creative Inquiry led by Dr. Min Cao in Biological Sciences; the Rutland Institute for Ethics’ student ethics committee, Creative Habits and Norms Guiding Ethical Decisions; and the Health Extension for Diabetes Program, a free, practice-tested program recognized by the American Diabetes Association.
After graduation, Albash’s aspiration is to pursue a career in medicine with a specialization in internal medicine and nephrology. He plans to attend medical school and hopes to one day establish his own clinic and dialysis center to provide comprehensive care for patients with renal disorders.
The J.T. Barton Jr. Memorial Ethics Award was established in 2001 by Stephan Barton in honor of his late father and supports students who could demonstrate a noteworthy understanding of the essence of an ethical dilemma, as well as excellence in strategic thinking on how to deal with the dilemma through ethical decision-making skills.
The award is given to a singular student and/or a student group on the Clemson University’s campus who pledges to use the award programmatically for advancing good ethical decision-making skills. Three awards are provided annually in the amounts of $1,500, $1,000, and $500. A panel of judges made up of the Rutland Institute Advisory Board Program Committee members determine award recipients each year.
This summer we shared a number of incoming freshmen’s stories with you. In this series we circle back to those students and see how they are doing now.
Maddie Smith
Since being on campus, Maddie Smith, genetics major from Slidell, LS, has thrived both academically and personally.
“I am in love with campus and all of my coursework. My professors have been nothing short of amazing and so willing to help whenever I need!”
She has become involved in organizations such as Alpha Omega Epsilon, a sorority that promotes women in STEM, a bible study through Catholic Tigers, the Genetics and Biochemistry Club and the Swift Society. Maddie is also part of a Creative Inquiry with Dr. Todd Lyda.
“My favorite class so far would have to be my CI research project with Dr. Lyda! We work to isolate Euglena cells in a gel strip using gel electrophoresis to make a reuseable battery. My lab mates and I are super close, and we love getting together outside of the lab for lunches at Schlitter!”
Maddie enjoys all parts of what Clemson has to offer: football games, snow days on Bowman Field, studying in the Harry Potter room on the second floor of the library and consistently making new friends.
“My favorite Clemson moment would have to be the snow day! Being from south Louisiana, I have only ever seen snow once at home! It was so magical and the most amazing welcome back from the holiday break!”
The past academic year at Clemson and in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry has solidified Maddie’s future career goals.
“Since being in the Genetics and Biochemistry department, I have gained confidence in my academic abilities, and I have no doubt I will be prepared to take the MCAT and hopefully be accepted into medical school!”
When asked what her advice for incoming freshman would be, Maddie said to not give up when things get hard.
“It is not easy being in all science classes but finding a group of friends that know what you are going through and will help you succeed will make the world of difference! Shout out to my G&B girls, Kylie Wilson and Muara Korte, for being the best friends and study partners ever!”
Kylie Wilson
When we first met freshman genetics student Kylie Wilson back in the Summer of 2024, she was passionate about Clemson and studying genetics – neither has changed.
“The more time I spend here, the more I keep falling in love with Clemson. I feel like it is the perfect place for me to continue to grow.”
Kylie says her time at Clemson has not only met, but exceeded her expectations in many ways, forging life-long friendships and growing in her independence and self-confidence.
“Everyone who I have met here is so nice and eager to make friends. I feel like I can genuinely talk to and form friendships with everyone, especially people in my classes.”
Speaking of classes, Kylie’s favorite class has been her Biology 1100 lecture.
“I love learning about all the internal processes of the cell, and I am so excited to delve into those processes and the blueprint behind them in my future classes.”
Kylie has become actively involved on campus during her first year at Clemson, being on multiple committees within her sorority, Pi Beta Phi.
“Being in that sisterhood has been tremendously important to my college experience thus far.”
Beyond that, Kylie is involved in the Genetics and Biochemistry Club and the CHANGE Student Ethics Organization. This semester, she also joined Dr. Todd Lyda’s Creative Inquiry Lab, in which they are aiming to create a photosynthetic battery using chlorophyll harvested from Euglena cells.
Kylie has many Clemson moments that she holds close, but her favorite was her first game day. She loved waking up in her dorm and realizing that she was right in the middle of the action!
“I spent the day with friends who I had just met that week, and that day I met so many people who I have grown close with. I sat on The Hill, and the night game atmosphere was unmatched. I quickly learned all the chants and realized why people love the sports here so much – our school spirit is amazing.”
When we originally spoke with Kylie, she said that she wanted to be a genetic counselor. That plan has been solidified since her time in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry.
“In my Careers in Genetics and Biochemistry course, we had a genetic counselor come speak, and that is when I knew that was the career path that I wanted to pursue 100%.”
Kylie’s main piece of advice for incoming freshman is to not be intimidated.
“College is very intimidating at first. It is super exciting, but the process of meeting new people and building those friendships while getting used to college coursework, can be daunting at times. My biggest advice is to challenge that intimidation head on. Work hard for those friendships and work hard to maintain your academics.”
Kylie also notes that you must not get complacent but continue to work hard to excel in every avenue you choose to be involved in.
“All I have to add is that I just absolutely love it here and anyone who is thinking of coming here absolutely should! There are so many opportunities, and it will change your life!”
When senior biochemistry major Ruxi Xia was shopping for colleges, she began to get worried that she wouldn’t find the place for her because she wasn’t connecting at any of the campuses she toured at. That all changed when she visited Clemson.
“Clemson felt like home as soon as I stepped on the campus.”
Ruxi is an international student from Wuhan, China that came to the US in high school and lived with a host family. After high school Ruxi was excited to learn that Clemson had a robust biochemistry program.
“I wanted a strong biochemistry program to set me up for success in cancer research as it has been my career choice since one of my family members passed from cancer.”
Now that Ruxi is here, she is grateful to have been exposed to many foundational science courses that she says will set her up for success.
“I enjoy my upper-level professors, who are really passionate about science and have made me a much stronger student.”
Ruxi is not only involved in her routine academics on campus; she is a part of many different extracurricular activities including the Clemson Light Imaging Facility (CLIF).
“I have worked on many independent immunofluorescence staining projects, learned to operate wide-field and confocal microscopes, and coordinated an imaging contest that receives entries from all over the world for that past three years.”
Ruxi also works in a bioengineering lab characterizing peptides to deliver siRNA for RNA interference applications in ovarian cancer, as well as using a 3D spheroid model to better study the tumor and has presented her research at five national conferences.
As a co-director for Clemson Paw Pantry since Spring 2023, Ruxi has enjoyed leading the executive team and spreading awareness for the initiative, tripling both the usage of the pantry and the number of volunteers. Ruxi is also a student tutor at the Academic Success Center and mentor for the Clemson College of Science Mentoring and Inclusion Collaborative (COSMIC).
In addition, Ruxi serves as an active member in student government, as the volunteer/community service coordinator for the Clemson Rotaract Club and as the president of the Clemson Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA).
“I have really enjoyed getting to help out the community whether that is helping at the Clemson Community Care, local farms, and other shelters in the community.”
Ruxi went to high school in Virginia and enjoys baking, cooking and spending time with her friends trying new restaurants and coffee shops. After graduation, Ruxi plans to either pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering or pharmaceutical sciences.
If you’re in the sciences, odds are you’ve crossed paths with Kate Doran. Maybe in your genetics or biochemistry or anthropology or engineering or chemistry or biology courses. Kate seems to be a jack of all trades in the College of Science.
Originally from Stephentown, New York, Kate is a junior double majoring in genetics and biochemistry with minors in social sciences, biological sciences, engineering and chemistry. Kate chose Clemson because when she toured “it felt like home” with it being a big school but with a small school environment.
Research being a significant part of Kate’s academic career, she has been involved in the Creative Inquiry + Undergraduate Research Program, Clemson University’s unique combination of undergraduate research, experiential learning and cross-disciplinary interactions.
“The opportunities available were unmatched, specifically the creative inquiry program which allows undergraduate students to do research.”
The title of Kate’s Creative Inquiry project is “Development of a 3D-Printed Millifluidic Device to Study How Bacteria Alters the 3D Migration of Breast Cancer Cells.” The goal of this project was to look at the chemotactic response due to soluble factors released by bacteria in the breast tumor microenvironment and investigate this through the development of a 3D printed millifluidic device to analyze cancer cell chemotaxis.
In addition to the Creative Inquiry Program, Kate participates in Dr. Adam Melvin’s chemical engineering lab, focusing on the 3-Dimensional migration of breast cancer cells within a 3D printed device.
“Prior to Clemson, I did not anticipate working or participating in an engineering environment, however the opportunities presented to undergraduates are unmatched across all fields.”
The research she has participated in at Clemson led her to obtain a position as a summer intern at the National Institutes of Health last summer. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
Kate notes some of her academic success to the people she is surrounded by here at Clemson, whether that be academic advisors, professors or other students.
“As I move forward in my degree, each semester I meet more people within the department, and the community that biochemistry and genetics majors have is truly special.”
After graduation, Kate plans to pursue an M.D. or a Ph.D.
“Medical school has been a long-term goal of mine, and following the introduction to biochemistry and research, it was apparent the original plan could be expanded in order to better help others in the long run.”
Senior biochemistry major Harmon Vison has been on both sides of the medical field. Around a year old, he was diagnosed with a genetic disorder called Hemihypertrophy, which gave him the inspiration to study biochemistry and eventually go on to medical school.
Hemihypertrophy is a condition in which one side of the body or a part of one side of the body is larger than the other. Throughout his young life, Harmon went through numerous surgeries with Dr. Gurpur Shashidhar Pai to treat his condition.
“Visiting Dr. Pai and having multiple surgeries has influenced my future career goals. With the goal of attending medical school, I believed that Biochemistry was the right major to achieve these goals.”
Clemson has acted a second home for Harmon his entire life, growing up spending weekends in Clemson tailgating and watching football games and other athletic events. It was his dream university to attend.
“Both of my parents are Clemson grads and Clemson was actually where they met. So I enjoy joking around with friends that if it wasn’t for Clemson, I wouldn’t exist. The family aspect of Clemson has stood out since day one and words cannot describe how thankful I am for that.”
On campus, Harmon is a part of the Honors College and is involved in intramural sports – football and basketball. Throughout high school, Harmon was always involved in a sport and has enjoyed keeping up with physical activities here at Clemson.
When he is not playing a sport, Harmon loves to hunt and fish with family and friends. Offshore fishing has always been a passion of his and he says his love for the blue water will continue in the years to come.
Academically, you will likely find Harmon studying for the MCAT or participating in a summer internship. This past summer, Harmon had the opportunity to intern with Swann and Tolbert Medicine. Swann and Tolbert Medicine practices “concierge” care, which is a membership-based healthcare that pairs exclusive, personalized care with accessibility and convenience.
“Dr. Swann and his fellow coworkers were able to provide me with a very valuable experience and demonstrated proper patient care. This internship provided me with multiple skills while also setting high goals in regards to future patient care.”
After graduation, he plans to take a gap year before entering medical school in pursuit of becoming an anesthesiologist. It has been my lifelong dream to be able to return the same care that was provided to him and to support other patients in need.
“After undergoing multiple surgeries throughout my life, I have seen both sides of the medical field. I was able to build a strong connection with my personal anesthesiologist due to his bedside manner and was truly able to be at ease before a big surgical procedure.”
Harmon is thrilled that he chose Clemson and our biochemistry program, saying it has lived up to all expectations. Harmon says the bonds that have been built will last a lifetime and the preparation for medical school has been top-notch.
“I am forever grateful for Clemson’s Biochemistry program.”
When senior biochemistry major Justyn Stevens was in high school, he started taking chemistry, biology and anatomy and immediately fell in love with life sciences. That passion coupled with his love of the campus and the knowledge that he wanted to go into the medical field made the biochemistry major at Clemson the perfect place for him.
“Clemson is also always investing in the sciences and helping students and professors with anything they need to help advance their research.”
For Justyn, the Genetics and Biochemistry Department has brought a sense of community with life-long friends and supportive professors. Justyn says his professors and advisors are always there to answer questions just talk about the future and how to prepare.
“If I had one piece of advice for any incoming or current G&B students, it would be to not be afraid to talk to people. Whether that’s professors or other students, you never know who you could meet. I have found some of my best friends in this major as well as some of my favorite professors.”
One of the professors that Justyn has found supportive is Dr. Lukasz Kozubowski. Justyn is currently working in Dr. Kozubowksi’s lab where he is studying Cryptococcus Neoforms. He works closely with Hannah Akahoho, a Ph.D. student in the lab, to better understand the CDC42 gene found in Cryptococcus.
“We are testing how different drugs interact with the organisms and seeing how they affect the budding/replication of Cryptococcus cells. This, in the grand scheme of things, will help our understanding of the CDC42 gene and how to prevent Cryptococcus from replicating and spreading.”
Justyn’s end goal is to go to medical school and become a cardiothoracic surgeon. After graduation, he plans to take a gap year, working as an EMT back in his hometown of Myrtle Beach, SC.
In his free time, Justyn enjoys anything sports related – golfing, throwing football/baseball or playing pickleball. He is studying for the MCAT to go to medical school after his gap year.
