Major: Health Sciences
Minors: Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Medical Humanities
Certificate: Language Intercultural Communication in Spanish

Nellie Chen is a graduating senior majoring in Health Sciences and double minoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Medical Humanities. She will be starting medical school in the fall of 2021, with aspirations to enter the fields of pediatrics or palliative care.

Nellie is involved in various activities and extracurriculars on campus. As President of the Rice Medical Humanities Club and the Co-Director of Rice Alzheimer’s Buddies, Nellie has been able to combine her academic interests with actionable work with undergraduate students. Additionally, as an RHA, STRIVE Liaison, and Head Caregiver for Hanszen College, she works with and educates her fellow students on conversations related to mental health, interpersonal violence, and alcohol safety. Outside of campus, she volunteers with the Houston Hospice.

Nellie also spent a summer in Madrid, Spain as part of a study abroad program. While taking courses about Spanish culture and society, she interned at Asociación de Celíacos y Sensibles al Gluten (ACSG) Madrid as a research assistant. She also spent the spring break of her sophomore year traveling across Cuba by bus with her class, conducting a research project on the detrimental impacts of the U.S. embargo on Cuban population health.

During her time at Rice University, Nellie joined two research labs. She conducts research with the Finnell Birth Defects Lab at Baylor College of Medicine, where she works on discovering mitigation strategies for valproate-induced neural tube defects in sensitive murine models. She also works extensively with the Proyecto Voces lab, which assesses and contextualizes the physiological and psychological needs of undocumented Latinx immigrants. For her work in these labs, she has been nominated and awarded the Distinction in Research and Creative Works award. She hopes to utilize all that she has learned and gained through her four years at Rice to positively impact her studies as a medical student and future career as a physician.