Freshman at Yale Has Catalyst Research Published

Ava Thomas '18 hit the ground running – literally – when she arrived at Yale this fall. She is a member of Yale’s Division I track team and intends to double major in economics and molecular, cellular and developmental biology. Ava says that her favorite parts of Yale are the opportunity to speak and work with professors who are leaders in their field or have received Nobel Prizes for their research; the rich history and tradition of the school, including the Beinecke Rare Books Library and the Yale University Art Gallery; practicing with top athletes from around the world on the track team; and the inspiration she feels from the conversations she has with her peers.
 
Continuing what she started at Gilmour in the VECTOR program, where she completed both the Science & Medicine and the Business & Entrepreneurship strands, Ava is exploring potential career paths in medicine and business. Her current aspiration is in investment banking, specifically mergers and acquisitions, where her knowledge of both economics and biology would be beneficial for diversification in the field.
 
While at Gilmour, Ava also participated in the Catalyst program, completing cancer research alongside Dr. Narla at CWRU. At the end of February, Ava was notified that the article she and the research team at CWRU wrote had been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight.
 
Ava said her work in Catalyst was one of the most academically rewarding experiences she had at Gilmour. She explained, “The Catalyst exposure to experimental methods and the ability to think critically and analyze data primed me for biology at Yale. I am a firm believer in the Catalyst program and would encourage those interested in STEM to be a part of the experience.”
 
With a semester-and-a-half of college under her belt, Ava reflected on how Gilmour prepared her for this next step. “Catalyst, science and math courses, Spanish courses, Speech & Debate and Socratic seminars have all prepared me academically at Yale University. More broadly, Gilmour enabled me to develop the skills as an analytical thinker, innovative and resilient problem solver, and an empathetically engaged global citizen.”
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