Where the micro-scale meets the macro-scale at UChicago

For Mel Zhou, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) is where the micro-scale and the macro-scale converge: a place to study the smallest details of disease, in one of the country’s largest cities.

A graduate of Rice University who majored in bioengineering, Zhou became interested in how the smallest features of diseases like cancer can be influenced by conventional treatments and by immunotherapy.

During two years of research on single-cell proteomics at Rice under principal investigator Julea Vlassakis, she learned how proteins produced by individual cells can offer insight into how cancer develops and progresses. That experience convinced her that she eventually wanted to pursue a PhD, but first she wanted a program that delved further into the molecular level of treatment, in the vein of her work at Rice. That search led her to the UChicago PME Master of Engineering program.

“What I really like about the program is that it’s newer," Zhou said, "so they’ve done a really good job of carving out a niche for themselves regarding molecular engineering.”

In the Bio- and Immunoengineering Track, Zhou is continuing her study of the minutest aspects of medicine. As part of the program she works with Prof. Savas Tay, studying how cancers respond to stimuli at the cellular level in a microfluidic environment.

“We create platforms where we can study how cancers react at a micro-scale, and that tells us a lot about how patients will react individually to different therapeutics,” she said.

We create platforms where we can study how cancers react at a micro-scale, and that tells us a lot about how patients will react individually to different therapeutics

Master of Engineering student Mel Zhou

That work connects to the immunoengineering side of the track, Zhou explained, which focuses on the body’s natural defenses and their ability to fight disease in ways that conventional treatments often cannot match. She pointed to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s as an example.

“Getting into the brain is hard because there’s a blood-brain barrier, but the immune system already has access to the whole body and brain,” Zhou said.

By harnessing the immune system, she said, therapies can be targeted to the affected area without the challenges of delivering them there or the risk that the body will reject them.

Outside of the academic aspect of the program, Zhou enjoys taking advantage of the size and variety of Chicago.

“I really like Chicago,” she said, “It’s such a big city with other young people, so it’s easy to make friends.”

When she isn’t studying cancer cells in microfluidic platforms, Zhou spends her time admiring the city’s architecture, exploring its neighborhoods, and browsing its farmers markets, all accessible by a public transit system she praises highly.

After completing the Master of Engineering program, Zhou plans to continue her studies. She has been admitted to a PhD program in bioengineering at the University of Maryland, where she plans to build on the knowledge she has gained at UChicago PME.

—Learn more about the Master of Engineering program at UChicago PME