Bryn Mawr Posse Alum Pursues Passion at Harvard Dental School
Yuying Guo, a Posse STEM alumna of Bryn Mawr College, is now a graduate student in dentistry at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
Yuying graduated from Bryn Mawr in 2018 Magna Cum Laude with departmental honors in biology. She was drawn to a focus in biology from the very beginning of her undergraduate studies and motivated to simultaneously explore research and learning outside of the classroom.
“I have always been interested in the human body,” Yuying says, looking back on what initially brought her into the Posse STEM Program. “Living organisms inspired me to pursue the natural sciences.”
Yuying credits Bryn Mawr’s small classes—where she received close mentorship and guidance—as a powerful force in helping her forge bonds across the campus community. She received additional mentorship from Bryn Mawr biology professor Dr. Joshua Shapiro, under whom she conducted research on the evolutionary genetics of yeast during all four years of her undergraduate experience.
Yuying’s first exploration of dentistry came the summer before her sophomore year at the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
“My Posse, Posse mentor, and the larger Posse and Bryn Mawr communities have all inspired me to continue to be curious, to be brave outside of my comfort zone.”
“My experience at SMDEP allowed me to gain an in-depth exposure to dentistry,” she says, pointing to it as a key moment that confirmed her decision to pursue the field.
Off-campus explorations became integral to Yuying’s growth as she dug deeper into biology studies and the different ways it might be applied in a future career. She spent subsequent summers at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University and at an international student program in Tianjin, China, that focused on science and technology in environmental social movements. At NEIDL, she studied viral infections, host defense mechanisms, and even sequenced the genome of inactivated Ebola viruses. Recalling the Tianjin summer, she describes it as “truly eye-opening," explaining that the convergence of perspectives helped her become more mindful of how people can work together to create a more sustainable future.
Back on campus at Bryn Mawr, Yuying says she was further empowered by the strong sense of community and activism she saw in the college’s student body, faculty and staff.
“My Posse, Posse mentor, and the larger Posse and Bryn Mawr communities have all inspired me to continue to be curious, to be brave outside of my comfort zone,” she says. “They inspired me to challenge traditional views of women in STEM and to defy expectations.”
As a dentist, Yuying plans to provide accessible, personalized oral healthcare to her patients. She also intends to pursue research to understand and reduce barriers to healthcare, improving existing systems and opening pathways to innovation.
