Minnesota's strength in neuroengineering and fellowships draw PhD student
February 2, 2025 — After a long and circuitous path across the nation, including a stint in the United States Congress as a tech ethics fellow, Kenna McRae is back in her home state of Minnesota.
McRae, a first-year biomedical engineering Ph.D. candidate on the Twin Cities campus, is the newest member of the Neural Netoff Laboratory. Led by Professor Tay Netoff, the University of Minnesota research lab is focused on developing approaches that optimize neuromodulation therapies to maximize the performance of deep brain stimulation on neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, and spinal cord injury.
In the video and Q&A below, McRae—a 2024-25 recipient of College of Science and Engineering Lawler-Pray Family Fellowship and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) Excellence Award—talks about her interdisciplinary journey to the University of Minnesota and the importance of fellowships to support graduate students.