Hi everyone! My name is Michelle Zhao (she/her/hers) and I am beyond excited to be AMWA’s Awards Chair this year! I’m a third year pre-medical student at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology with an emphasis on Medical Biology & Physiology and minoring in Nutritional Sciences. I joined AMWA at the beginning of my first semester here at UC Berkeley and immediately felt welcomed among a diverse community of inspiring young women. Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working as AMWA Berkeley’s Treasurer, and I will now go on to serve as our branch’s External Vice President. Outside of school and AMWA, I conduct research on the role of nuclear hormone receptors in liver disease, assist with clinical trials on psoriasis in UCSF’s Department of Dermatology, and volunteer with the Women’s Cancer Resource Center. In my free time, I enjoy reading fiction, taking long walks in nature, and discovering new music/artists! AMWA has truly been an integral part of making me feel supported and empowered during my undergraduate career. I cannot wait to continue learning and growing alongside my AMWA family as we navigate our premedical and medical journeys!