Caitlyn Chen’s path to becoming a physician-scientist
The fourth-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, who will pursue medical school after graduation, spent her time at Penn applying deep knowledge of the natural sciences to research more affordable microsensors for medical devices.
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Caitlyn Chen is a fourth-year in the College of Arts & Sciences who aspires to develop more affordable diagnostics for rare diseases using innovative medical devices.
A daughter of engineers, she at first came to Penn with what she calls an “aversion” to engineering, before realizing that applying her interest in biochemistry to the possibilities of medical devices opened an exciting new research path.
The MLS program, she says, has supported that path by enabling her to conduct research in the lab of the MicroSensors and MicroActuators Group (MSMA), housed inside the Singh Center for Nanotechnology. There, she’s taken an interest in microsensors used for medical devices, inspired by conversations with material scientists, physicians, biologists, and others.
“[MLS] gave me the opportunity to gain as much scientific knowledge as possible, giving me the foundations to hopefully use them to do something good in the future,” Chen says. “That’s how I got interested in coming to Penn in the first place.”
What
After her work in the MSMA lab awakened her curiosity about engineering and medical devices, she considered what kind of an impact she could have to make medical advances in diagnostics more accessible.
“When I thought about how to improve device accessibility, the first thing that came to mind that could make the most impact was diagnostics,” says Chen. “My research is focused on making these devices, or the fabrication process, much less expensive.”
She’s taken lot of inspiration from her chemistry and fundamental sciences background in the process, she adds.
Mark Allen, the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and director of MSMA, says Chen has primarily worked with a doctoral student in the lab on how sensors can measure the oxygen level in muscle for the diagnosis of mitochondrial disease. In collaboration with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, his lab has investigated how to make otherwise invasive diagnostic procedures simpler by fabricating a microsensor.
“She has really functioned and performed at the level of a Ph.D. student … and is fulfilling all the demands [of an undergraduate] while getting these very high-quality results,” says Allen. “That’s very unusual. I’ve rarely seen that.”
Her path from here, he adds, will serve her well with understanding clinical problems and practice while boasting the strengths of a science background.
Why
“While I was applying for grad school this cycle, I think I said in every single interview, ‘I want to be a [principal investigator] one day,’ ” like Allen, says Chen, with a laugh.
The mentorship, she says, has allowed her to think more broadly and intentionally about the skills and creativity she brings to a project. “That’s where this biomolecular inspiration came from,” she says.
Because she grew up in a largely migrant community, where she witnessed a disparity of access, she’s focused on rare diseases that impact those groups and present like other metabolic disorders, making detection difficult. That, she hopes, will improve long-term health outcomes.
As an undergraduate heavily involved in research, she was invited to participate as a member of Penn Forward’s Research Strategy and Financing working group in fall 2025. There, she worked with faculty and staff to “invite the future in,” she says. Through that group, she says, she generated ideas about how to advance resources for research while remaining committed to Penn’s values.
“That balance is something I hadn’t really considered before, and I was amazed the institution was really taking that seriously,” Chen says.
Chen will enter medical school this fall, in pursuit of an M.D.-Ph.D.
“I think that’s a great environment to learn the skills to become a good medical device engineer,” she explains. “A lot can be achieved through collaboration.”
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