Student Spotlight: Kylie Tang ‘ 28 – 2025 DoM Evans Days 3rd Place Basic Science Poster Winner
Congratulations to Kylie Tang, a current M2 student, the 2025 Boston University Department of Medicine Research Symposium 3rd place Basic Science Poster Winner! Under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Roh, MD/PhD, Kylie presented her research project, “The Effects of Dasatinib + Quercetin on Open Wound repair in Aged and Youn Skin.” This research project looked at senescence-related cutaneous wound healing and the influence of senolytics on it. They found that senolytics didn’t delay wound healing in young mice, and it significantly accelerated wound healing in aged mice to a comparable rate as young mice. Noting the varying gene expression of different senescence markers at the wound site indicate that there is more to be explored.
Kylie’s inspiration and initial interest in the aging process was sparked by her undergrad research in neurotransmitter dynamics in Parkinson’s. Over time, her interests shifted from studying diseases in neural degeneration to more of an interest in the entire body, such as the skin and regeneration abilities. She was excited and felt privileged to pursue this interest with the Roh lab, where they looked at senescence and its impact on tissue repair. She was also mentored by Dr. Maria Shvedova, MD/PhD and Dr. Qioaling Wang, PhD.
When asked about the importance and timeliness of her project, Kylie states “Today, our older population is larger than ever due to our advances in healthcare and technology. With this rapidly growing population comes increasing demands in age-related care and how we can tailor healthcare to older patients, which may differ from younger populations. Therefore, a better understanding of the impact of senescence on wound healing is crucial.”
Through this experience, Kylie has gained valuable technical skills, enhanced critical thinking, and learned the importance of collaboration in scientific research. Through many trials and errors with the guidance and patience of her mentors, Kylie developed not only a greater array of skills but also the ability to think more critically, saying “I’m lucky to be part of a collaborative environment, and so I learned just how important it is to work together as a team.”
We are so proud of Kylie for her ongoing accomplishments and the efforts of her mentor Dr. Roh, his lab and all those involved!