Undergraduate Student
she/her/hers
Year joined: 2022
Claire was born and raised in the Sacramento, California where she participated in outreach projects with underserved communities and volunteered at a local hospital. Through these experiences, Claire embraced a career in medicine as an avenue to bolster her passion for service and love of science. Claire came to Texas Tech in 2020 where she is working to attain a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Since her first general chemistry course as a freshman, Claire has developed a fervent love of Chemistry. By joining Dr. Kristufek’s lab, Claire looks forward to coupling her interest in healthcare with her love of chemistry through exploring ways to transformation harmful plastic waste into synthetically useful feedstocks. With the burdens of plastic waste and pollution predominately affecting economically disadvantaged communities, working to transform plastic waste speaks directly to Claire’s interest in advocacy for underserved populations.
Outside of the classroom, Claire enjoys working with the Texas Tech Center for Addiction Recovery Research to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices. Additionally, Claire hosts study groups and creates free academic resource files to destigmatize the toxic “pre-med culture” and encourage inclusion, diversity, and equality in STEM.