Scripps College alumna Eun Ji Chung ’06 has been named in the prestigious “35 Under 35” listing of chemical engineers by the AIChE Foundation. The award honors notable young professionals based on their achievements in various chemical engineering fields. Chung, who is a Gabilan Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), received the award in the bioengineering category.
An article in a recent AIChE newsletter highlights Chung’s interest in biomaterial strategies such as tissue regeneration for clinical applications. The article also touches on Chung’s personal drive and focus, quoting her on the advice she would give to her “younger self”:
“Sometimes, you can’t rush the process, and time will allow you to perfect it.”
Chung, who has won numerous awards to fund her work, says her future research goals include providing cost-efficient nanodiagnostics and therapeutics for patients with diseases that are not well understood or often overlooked. To achieve this, Chung says an interdisciplinary team of scientists, clinicians, and trainees is needed.
“In order to train the next generation of the STEM workforce, I hope to inspire students and convey biomedical engineering and biomaterials research as both tangible and compelling,” Chung says. She currently works with and supervises graduate and undergraduate students and postdoctoral trainees from her post at USC and says she enjoys teaching and mentoring this next generation of similarly inclined scientists.
Chung received her BA in molecular biology with honors at Scripps College and her PhD in biomedical engineering at Northwestern University. #AIChE35Under35