Meet a WMSURE Scholar: Carlos Noel
Carlos Noel is a sophomore biology major on the pre-med track at William & Mary and a member of the 1693 Scholars Program and Monroe Scholars Program.
Noel is passionate about the intersection between social justice and medicine, and he explored this topic in-depth as a part of the AHA and R.E.A.C.H Fellowship Program. During summer 2020, he worked with Vanessa B. Sheppard, M.D., on health disparity research related to hypertension in Black breast cancer survivors.
At the college, Noel is a Co-Founder of an organization called MindVersity, which calls attention to mental health disparities that BIPOC students face on college campuses. The club focuses on building support systems, sharing resources, and combating the cultural stigma surrounding mental health. He has also worked with Branch Out Alternative Breaks during fall 2020 and winter 2021 on service projects related to race & reconciliation. Outside of academics, he has leadership roles in The Botetourt Chamber Singers and the Gentlemen of the College acapella.
As a member of Dr. Shantá Hinton’s cell biology lab, Noel has been learning about MK-STYX, a seemingly novel pseudophosphatase. He plans to continue his work in lab and focus on a project aiming to characterize the role of the protein in a neuronal cell model. After graduating from William & Mary, Noel plans to attend medical school with his specialties of interest being general surgery and internal medicine. As a future physician, he hopes to mitigate the systemic inequities that people of color face in health care.
