Hannah Hagen, United States

Hannah Hagen is a rising scholar entering her senior year of the Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a minor in Biochemistry at the University of Arizona. She previously earned her Associate of Science degree with High Honors from Pima Community College in 2024.

Driven by a strong interest in medical innovation, Hannah is conducting research in cell pharmacy devices at the Institute for Cellular Transplantation for her honors thesis. Her prior research experience includes a National Science Foundation–funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of Wisconsin, where she worked with Sean Scoville in the Molecular Ecology Lab. There, she explored RNA interference in synergy with insecticides to combat resistance in the Colorado potato beetle, work she later presented with support from a travel scholarship at the SACNAS 2024 NDiSTEM conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hannah is on track to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in May 2025 and plans to pursue a Master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She intends to use the master’s program as a foundation for entering an MD–PhD, where she hopes to further her research and help bridge the gap between medicine and science.