At an early age, Katie Spivakovsky learned to study the world from different angles. Dinner-table conversations at her family’s home in Menlo Park, California, often leaned toward topics like the Maillard reaction — the chemistry behind food browning — or the fascinating mysteries of prime numbers. Spivakovsky’s parents, one of whom studied physical chemistry and the other statistics, fostered a love of knowledge that crossed disciplines.
In high school, Spivakovsky explored it all, from classical literature to computer science. She knew she wanted an undergraduate experience that encouraged her broad interests, a place where every field was within reach.
“MIT immediately stood out,” Spivakovsky says. “But it was specifically the existence of New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) — a truly unique initiative that immerses undergraduates in interdisciplinary opportunities both within and beyond campus — that solidified my belief that MIT was the perfect fit for me.”
NEET is a cross-departmental education program that empowers undergraduates to tackle the pressing challenges of the 21st century through interdisciplinary learning. Starting in their sophomore year, NEET scholars choose from one of four domains of study, or “threads:” Autonomous Machines, Climate and Sustainability Systems, Digital Cities, or Living Machines. After the typical four years, NEET scholars graduate with a degree in their major and a NEET certificate, equipping them with both depth in their chosen field and the ability to work in, and drive impact across, multiple domains.
Spivakovsky is now a junior double-majoring in biological engineering and artificial intelligence and decision-making, with a minor in mathematics. At a time when fields like biology and computer science are merging like never before, she describes herself as “interested in leveraging engineering and computational tools to discover new biomedical insights” — a central theme of NEET’s Living Machines thread, in which she is now enrolled.
“NEET is about more than engineering,” says Amitava “Babi” Mitra, NEET founding executive director. “It’s about nurturing young engineers who dream big, value collaboration, and are ready to tackle the world’s toughest challenges with heart and curiosity. Watching students like Katie thrive is why this program matters so deeply.”
Spivakovsky’s achievements while at MIT already have a global reach. In 2023, she led an undergraduate team at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Paris, France, where they presented a proof of concept for a therapy to treat cancer cachexia. Cachexia is a fat- and muscle-wasting condition with no FDA-approved treatment. The condition affects 80 percent of late-stage cancer patients and is responsible for 30 percent of cancer deaths. Spivakovsky’s team won a silver medal for proposing the engineering of macrophages to remove excess interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory protein overproduced in cachexia patients, and their research was later published in MIT’s Undergraduate Research Journal, an honor she says was “unreal and humbling.”
Spivakovsky works as a student researcher in the BioNanoLab of Mark Bathe, professor of biological engineering and former NEET faculty director. The lab uses DNA and RNA to engineer nanoscale materials for such uses as therapeutics and computing. Her focus is validating nucleic acid nanoparticles for use in therapeutics.
According to Bathe, “Katie shows tremendous promise as a scientific leader — she brings unparalleled passion and creativity to her project on making novel vaccines with a depth of knowledge in both biology and computation that is truly unmatched.”
Spivakovsky says class 20.054 (Living Machines Research Immersion), which she is taking in the NEET program, complements her work in Bathe’s lab and provides well-rounded experience through workshops that emphasize scientific communication, staying abreast of scientific literature, and research progress updates. “I’m interested in a range of subjects and find that switching between them helps keep things fresh,” she says.
Her interdisciplinary drive took her to Merck over the summer, where Spivakovsky interned on the Modeling and Informatics team. While contributing to the development of a drug to deactivate a cancer-causing protein, she says she learned to use computational chemistry tools and developed geometric analysis techniques to identify locations on the protein where drug molecules might be able to bind.
“My team continues to actively use the software I developed and the insights I gained through my work,” Spivakovsky says. “The target protein has an enormous patient population, so I am hopeful that within the next decade, drugs will enter the market, and my small contribution may make a difference in many lives.”
As she looks toward her future, Spivakovsky envisions herself at the intersection of artificial intelligence and biology, ideally in a role that combines wet lab with computational research. “I can’t see myself in a career entirely devoid of one or the other,” she says. “This incredible synergy is where I feel most inspired.”
Wherever Spivakovsky’s curiosity leads her next, she says one thing is certain: “NEET has really helped my development as a scientist.”
Source: https://news.mit.edu/2024/when-mit-neet-program-is-a-perfect-fit-1217
