{"681419":{"#nid":"681419","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ph.D. Student Pursues Disease Research, Advocates for Women in STEM","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s 400 acres of land thrive thanks, in part, to student involvement. Among those keeping Tech\u2019s gardens thriving is Athena Chien, a 4th-year Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering and co-president of the Bioengineering and Bioscience Unified Grad Students (BBUGS). Chien\u2019s impact goes beyond the gardens she helps maintain.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EResearching cures for diseases\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile working toward her Ph.D., Chien is simultaneously working on her master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering and researching a new electrical technique to study epithelial tissue in the Precision Biosystems lab.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s so much potential, and that\u2019s the exciting part of it,\u201d said Chien. \u201cBut there\u2019s also so much that\u2019s unknown, which is the unnerving part of it where you get to stretch your mind. It\u2019s an interesting puzzle.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChien came to Tech straight from undergrad at Rice University in Houston.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was drawn to this project, looking at epithelial tissue, which lines the inside surfaces of your body,\u201d said Chien.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer research is still in its early stages, but she believes it holds promise.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEpithelial diseases are more common than we think,\u201d said Chien. \u201cCeliac disease is an epithelial disease. Age-related macular degeneration affects epithelia on the back of your eye.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of Chien\u2019s collaborators at the National Institute of Health, Dr. Kapil Bharti, studies age-related macular degeneration. They\u2019re developing tissues to treat this leading cause of blindness in people over 65.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe dream would be that [the research] is used to understand and develop cures to epithelial diseases,\u201d said Chien.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENavigating Academia and Finding Support\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to her academic and research responsibilities, Athena Chien has navigated the complexities of being a minority and a woman in a predominantly male field. Through the challenging times, Chien has looked to her community and mentors for support and guidance. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEarly on, I was involved with the Bioengineering Alliance for Minorities (BEAM),\u201d said Chien. \u201cThat was a nice sense of community where we could just talk about experiences we were having.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Chien, she found it helpful to have a mentor who shared similar experiences. They could talk about being a minority or experiencing sexism in research and academia and how to deal with it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt helps to have someone who has similar experiences to validate my concerns and feelings or give me advice on how to handle it,\u201d said Chien. \u201cOr sometimes telling me that I don\u2019t have to put in that extra effort to explain myself if I don\u2019t want to. You can choose when you want to bring it up.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese experiences, while disheartening, have not deterred her. Instead, they have strengthened her resolve to excel and advocate for inclusivity in her field.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Chien continues balancing research, mentorship, and leadership, she hopes to pave the way for future scientists and engineers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have benefited from having mentors advocate for me, so I think that as I continue in my career, I hope to do the same for other women,\u201d said Chien.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChien credits the support of mentors like Phoebe Welch, Mercedes Gonzales, and Nmachi Anumba\u2013along with the broader network of women in STEM she has connected with over the years\u2013for shaping her journey. She hopes to pay that support forward, advocating for future generations of scientists and engineers.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E4th year Ph.D. student on research, mentorship, community, and overcoming adversity in grad school.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"4th year Ph.D. student on research, mentorship, community, and overcoming adversity in grad school. "}],"uid":"36249","created_gmt":"2025-03-27 17:56:02","changed_gmt":"2025-04-02 20:42:26","author":"Sara Franc","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-03-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-03-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676740":{"id":"676740","type":"image","title":"Athena Chien","body":null,"created":"1743625634","gmt_created":"2025-04-02 20:27:14","changed":"1743625634","gmt_changed":"2025-04-02 20:27:14","alt":"Athena Chien","file":{"fid":"260567","name":"athena-chien6.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/02\/athena-chien6.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/02\/athena-chien6.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2133186,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/02\/athena-chien6.jpg?itok=awbXde6y"}}},"media_ids":["676740"],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sara.franc@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESara Franc\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer\u003Cbr\u003EOffice of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}