From a young age, Katie Spivakovsky learned to take a look at the world from different perspectives. Table conversations at her family's home in Menlo Park, California, often covered topics just like the Maillard response – the chemistry behind browning food – or the fascinating mysteries of prime numbers. Spivakovsky's parents, one studying physical chemistry and the opposite statistics, had a love of data that transcended all disciplines.
In highschool, Spivakovsky explored all the things from classical literature to computer science. She knew she wanted an undergraduate experience that fostered her diverse interests and where all disciplines were within sight.
“MIT immediately stood out,” says Spivakovsky. “But it was specifically the existence of New transformation of engineering education (NEET) – a very unique initiative that immerses students in interdisciplinary opportunities each on and off campus – this solidified my belief that MIT is the right fit for me.”
NEET is a cross-departmental educational program that empowers students to deal with the pressing challenges of the twenty first century through interdisciplinary learning. Beginning of their second 12 months of study, NEET scholars select from certainly one of 4 study areas or “threads”: “Autonomous Machines,” “Climate and Sustainability Systems,” “Digital Cities,” or “Living Machines.” After the same old 4 years, NEET scholars complete their studies with a level of their major and a NEET certificate. This gives them each in-depth knowledge of their chosen field and the power to work and make an impact in multiple areas.
Spivakovsky is now a junior double majoring in bioengineering and artificial intelligence and decision-making with a minor in mathematics. At a time when fields akin to biology and computer science are merging like never before, she describes herself as “interested by using technical and computational tools to generate latest biomedical insights” – a central theme of NEET's Living Machines threadduring which she is now enrolled.
“NEET is about greater than just technology,” says Amitava “Babi” Mitra, founding executive director of NEET. “It's about supporting young engineers who dream big, value collaboration and are able to tackle the world's hardest challenges with heart and curiosity. Watching students like Katie thrive is why this program is so vital.”
Spivakovsky's achievements during his time at MIT have already got a world reach. In 2023, she led a team of scholars within 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 disorder for which there is no such thing as a FDA-approved treatment. The disease affects 80 percent of late-stage cancer patients and is accountable for 30 percent of cancer deaths. Spivakovsky's team won a silver medal for proposing to engineer macrophages to remove excess interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory protein that’s overproduced in cachexia patients. Her research was later published at MIT, an honor she describes as “surreal and humbling.”
Spivakovsky works as a student researcher within the BioNanoLab of Mark Bathe, professor of bioengineering and former NEET faculty director. The lab uses DNA and RNA to develop nanoscale materials for applications akin to therapeutics and computing. Her focus is on the validation of nucleic acid nanoparticles to be used in therapeutics.
According to Bathe, “Katie shows enormous potential as a scientific leader – she brings unparalleled passion and creativity to her project to supply novel vaccines and has a very unmatched knowledge of each biology and computer science.”
Spivakovsky says the course 20.054 (Living Machines Research Immersion), which she is taking as a part of the NEET program, complements her work in Bathe's lab and provides immersive experiences through workshops that concentrate on scientific communication, staying up up to now about scientific literature and updating research progress. “I'm interested by a spread of topics and find that switching between them helps keep things fresh,” she says.
Her interdisciplinary drive led her to Merck over the summer, where Spivakovsky accomplished an internship within the modeling and computer science team. While helping to develop a drug to deactivate a cancer-causing protein, she said she learned to make use of computational chemistry tools and developed geometric evaluation techniques to discover sites on the protein where drug molecules might bind.
“My team continues to actively use the software I developed and the insights I gained through my work,” says Spivakovsky. “The goal protein has an enormous patient population, so I’m confident that drugs will come to market inside the following decade and my small contribution can change the lives of many individuals.”
Looking to her future, Spivakovsky sees herself on the intersection of artificial intelligence and biology, ideally in a job that mixes wet lab with computational research. “I can’t imagine a profession without one or the opposite,” she says. “This incredible synergy inspires me essentially the most.”
Wherever Spivakovsky’s curiosity takes her next, one thing is definite: “NEET has really helped my development as a scientist.”
