For undergraduate senior Tom Skipper, the road to Biomedical Engineering started back in high school with his love for science. “I loved lots of different pure sciences, but I couldn’t nail down which one I loved the most. I started looking at different program requirements, doing extensive research and trying to figure out what I could devote myself to. When I looked at Brown BME, I thought that this degree would give me the opportunity to take some intro-level classes in all the sciences so I sort of ended up hedging my bets.” Brown biomedical engineering has an open curriculum that allows students to design some of their own program. Tom talked about the diversity of classes he was able to choose from during his time here at Brown, “There’s core engineering, combined with general and organic Chemistry, physiology and biochemistry, so overall, the program allowed me to explore a range of higher level sciences.”

During his time here at Brown, Skipper has worked in the Dawson lab as an undergraduate research assistant, creating benchtop 3D microenvironments for ovarian cancer research, “For my thesis, I am comparing purely alginate and alginate-gelatin microspheres to understand how the mechanical properties of the microenvironment impact the transition of ovarian cancer cells from non-invasive to invasive. The idea is to view the transition of these cells to metastasis, with the intention of understanding the basic biology, and eventually to use them for drug screening.” Tom was a sophomore when he first joined the Dawson lab, just as Dr. Dawson was moving her lab to Brown. “I knew I was interested in cancer research because I did a summer internship with a non-profit that past summer. It wasn’t wet lab, but clinical trial management and regulatory affairs. I knew that Dr. Dawson worked in cancer, and I wanted to get my foot in the door. I wanted to help her set up the lab and that’s exactly what happened.” As an undergraduate research student who has been a part of the lab from the beginning, Tom had the opportunity to work with Dr. Dawson, the postdoctoral researchers, and the graduate students in the lab. “Dr. Dawson is brilliant! She is very encouraging. She took me on with no experience, which was a big risk for her. I hope I’ve made it worth her while. She gives you a lot of direction and tells you exactly how she feels without beating around the bush, which is very helpful. Working with the postdocs and graduate students has also been a positive experience. While they have crazy schedules, we have a shared Google calendar that we use for collaboration. Overall there’s been a good balance of guidance and autonomy.” In addition to his hard work as a student researcher, Tom was also recently awarded the 2018-19 Doris M. and Norman T. Halpin Prize for Innovative and Interdisciplinary Senior Capstone Projects for his team's work on a senior design project to innovate deep brain stimulation in Brown's Biomedical Innovation and Design course.

Tom’s student experience at Brown goes beyond the classroom and lab. He is a part of Brown Outdoor Leadership Training, a community for rising sophomores, transfers, and resumed undergraduate students at Brown that organizes a backpacking trip and other activities for students throughout the year, giving them a new supportive community. “I also lead through the Brown Outing Club, and I am captain of the club tennis team. I really love outdoor activities and exercise has also helped me handle the stress of college.” As a graduating senior, Tom shared his secret to success, “I have maintained a decent work-life balance. I have made some really close friends and some close faculty relationships. After a tiring, stressful week, it’s easy to back out from the social commitments, but I force myself to participate in those as well, since they are a different kind of intellectual interaction -- very stimulating and often refreshing.”

Originally from Oxford, England, Skipper moved to the U.S. when he was young. “I moved because of my dad’s work. I have my extended family there, and I grew up in that culture. But I consider myself a mix of both English and American.” He attributes a big part of his stress management to his family as well, “I talk to my family a lot, and since they are in Connecticut, it’s easy to travel back home. My parents have supported me so much throughout this journey, and having family abroad has given me a lot of opportunities for international travel.” Tom’s father is a cancer researcher and director of technology development at a non-profit. His mother volunteers at a family and children’s agency, helping foster children find families.

Upon graduating, Tom will be working at the Broad Institute for two years in a Research Associate position, starting at the end of this summer. His interest in cancer research led Skipper to different internship opportunities, including one with Novartis last summer, “It got me thinking about drug discovery more, and how it applies to cancer. We were trying to discover better treatments for ER-positive breast cancer, using a bifunctional degrader. It gave me confirmation that I like molecular biological wet lab research.” He is scheduled to work in the cancer dependency map lab at the Broad Institute, “I am really excited to be at the Broad, because it straddles industry and academia experiences -- it has industry lab structure and funding, with the spirit of academia in its commitment to collaboration and open source science -- for part of my project, they publish their findings every 90 days in the hopes of inspiring others to pursue leads we don’t have the resources to. These elements were appealing to me, and it seems like a good place for students to gain research experience and build their resume before applying to graduate programs. It’s the best of both worlds, and Cambridge is a great location. I hope it will set me up for the next step.” Tom’s sister is a graduate student at Boston University, and he is really excited to be in the same city as her.

But his future plans don’t stop at the Broad Institute, “My conviction about BME has strengthened over time. BME is quite a hodgepodge, ranging from microscale to macroscale, but I find lots enticing in terms of upper level research. From drug delivery to tissue engineering -- it’s all amazing!” His work at the Dawson lab, and his advisor, Dr. Colvin, have certainly helped shape Tom’s distant future plans, “I would like to do an MD-PhD. I have oscillated between medical school and graduate school as an undergraduate, not knowing which would be more fulfilling to me. I’ve come to realize that neither was completely satisfying -- working with cells all day in a lab would be isolating without any clinical interaction. Having some form of patient care involved will help put the research into perspective for me. To be able to experience that meaningful interface someday is what motivates me.”

Like every student, graduating from Brown is a bittersweet moment for Tom, “While I am ready to move on, I will miss living with my friends. My experience at Brown has been wonderful! I will miss the convenience of having everything at my fingertips, and the comfort of a vast network surrounding me. Brown does a great job letting you develop yourself independently in a supportive environment.”