Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith, a member of the Honors College from Point Pleasant, will graduate with a degree in biomedical engineering and minor in molecular medicine. This first-generation college student has maintained a 4.0 GPA while immersed in breast cancer research, studying abroad and actively engaging in extracurricular activities.
As an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering MESA Research Laboratory, Smith studied the development of a small, affordable mobile medical device for early detection of breast cancer that could also benefit rural populations that do not have access to mammograms.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, he had the opportunity to embrace his Hispanic culture while serving as an undergraduate research assistant at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez where he studied stem cell therapy to create a hydrogel-based injection to treat diseases.
Among several other awards and recognitions, he was named a winner of the 2024 Goldwater Scholarship, and earned the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to travel abroad to Panama in 2025 as part of the Global Medical and Dental Brigades — an experience he said solidified his passion for global public health outreach.
Smith also served as the vice president of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and as a member of both the Wellbeing and Mental Health Student Advisory Board and Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.
His most fulfilling experience at WVU is being awarded a 2025 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. As a fellow, he will join the bioengineering doctoral program at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He is considering research focused on the development of more accessible diagnostic screening devices and vaccines for remote areas of the world.