Meet Nicole Brown
INDS Spring 2026 Graduate Highlight Series
B.S.: Biopsychosocial Approaches to Health and Disease
Minors/ Certiicates on Graduation Record:
- Semester Academic Honors| Spring 2025
- President's List | Fall 2025
- Cum Laude
Degree Mentors:
- Dr. Mettassebia B Kanno, MD| Health Provider, Infectious Diseases, Kaiser Permanente
- Dr. Tonya Webb | Professor of Microbiology and Immunology |UMSOM Assistant Dean
- Dr. James DeVita | Assistant Vice President for Academic Partnerships & High Impact Experiences
- Steven McAlpine| Assistant Teaching Professor, UMBC Individualized Study
Why did you choose to major in INDS?
I realized that many courses in the Biology major didn’t directly align with my interest in human health and disease, often focusing more on plant and animal systems or lacking a broader policy perspective. I saw this as an opportunity to integrate multiple disciplines, such as psychology, public health, epidemiology, and the biological sciences, to create a more well-rounded academic path that better reflects my interests.
What are your plans for after graduation, and how do you see using your INDS degree?
I plan to attend a postbaccalaureate program and apply to graduate school to earn my doctorate degree.
Were you involved in any clubs or organizations?
- Tau Sigma Honor Society| Public Relations Coordinator
- Researcher| Undergraduate Reasearch Achievement Day URCAD with research from my experiences at UMBC and the Medical University of South Carolina
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Researcher| Summer Undergraduate Research Program at the Medical University of South Carolina- 2024
- Studied CAR-T cell therapy for blood cancers like B cell lymphoma in the O’Neil Lab. My work contributed to developing a novel drug-inducible gene “safety switch” in human T cells to improve the safety of engineered therapies.
- In 2025, I worked at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, focusing on strategies to enhance CAR-T cell effectiveness. I investigated how modifying signaling pathways influences T cell function and their ability to sustain cancer cell elimination.
For More information on Nicole's INDS journey please click here!
Posted: May 11, 2026, 10:45 AM
