Leading the Way in STEM Research
Cameron Young, E’22, chemical engineering and biochemistry, was nominated for the Churchill Scholarship, which funds a year of post-baccalaureate study for ambitious, accomplished young researchers in the STEM fields at Churchill College, Cambridge University.
Cam Young is a dual chemical engineering and biochemistry major whose ambitions revolve around creating the next generation of personalized, pediatric cancer therapeutics at the bench-top and delivering them at the bedside as a physician-scientist. At Northeastern, Cam has complemented his rigorous coursework with extensive undergraduate research at the university and with esteemed co-op partners at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and MIT, the CDC, and Boston Children’s Hospital. Insodoing, Cam has blazed a trail for all who follow, composing a record of undergraduate research that is remarkable in its breadth, depth, and rigor. During the course of his career, Cam has progressed quickly from “new undergrad” to “key member” of multiple research groups investigating distinct questions with different methodologies. Beginning his career in Ambika Bajpayee’s Northeastern lab, Cam investigated mechanisms of cartilage aging and osteoarthritis pathogenesis in bovine joints, moving quickly through the stages of experimentation until he developed an in-vitro tissue model, tested therapeutics, and published the results. Building off this work but moving into the field of oncology, Cam began working in Giovanni Traverso’s lab (as well as with Robert Langer). Cam’s work here focused on developing a novel class of personalized radioprotective devices for mitigating healthy tissue damage in cancer patients and the manufacture of 3D printed customized drug delivery systems. Most recently, working in the lab of Adrienne Randolph at Boston’s Children’s Hospital Cam has focused on Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a life-threatening and mysterious condition that appears after COVID infection in some young people. Cam’s work in these areas has led to seven peer-reviewed publications—including in field-leading journals such as JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine—and six more under revision or review; Cam’s papers have already accrued over 200 citations.