Milen [National Mah Jongg League Scholar] was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, to parents who emigrated from Eritrea. As an undergraduate at Harvard College, where she majored in Neuroscience and minored in Global Health and Health Policy, she became interested in the phenomena of neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity. Seeking deeper insight into these processes, she joined the lab of Dr. Michael E. Greenberg at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and conducted research under Dr. Xin Gu (who was a Damon Runyon Fellow at that time). There, she investigated the function of the protein midnolin and explored its structural, spatial, and physiological properties, elucidating its regulation of key neuronal proteins. This research earned her the HMS “Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award in the Lefler Center” and the Harvard “Herchel Smith Undergraduate Science Fellowship.” Working in Dr. Gu’s independent lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, her scientific interests have widened from neuroscience to the broader processes of cellular growth, development, and death. She is drawn to the field of cancer biology not only for its scientific complexity but also for its human urgency and its therapeutic potential to prevent people’s stories from being cut too short. Outside of the lab, Milen immerses herself in the arts through volunteer work with local museums, creates her own art, and serves as paint charge for several student-run theatrical productions.
Damon Runyon Researchers
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Milen Negasi
Institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Named Award: National Mah Jongg League Scholar
Award Program: SPARK Scholar
Sponsor(s) / Mentor(s): Xin Gu, PhD
Cancer Type: Blood, Gynecological, Brain
Research Area: Cell Biology