Featured image caption: Ellie Johandes poses with Collaboratory faculty mentors in April 2018. L-R: Lorenzo García-Amaya, Ellie Johandes, and Nick Henriksen.
After applying through UROP in fall 2017, Ellie Johandes joined the Collaboratory’s Project Grant team From Africa to Patagonia: Voices of Displacement as a sociocultural analyst and manuscript editor. The STEM major grew her role with the project and found her own voice in humanities research. Johandes graduated from U-M in May 2022 with an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, B.S. in Cell & Molecular Biomedical Sciences, and a minor in Spanish.
We join the Africa to Patagonia team and the U-M Speech Production Lab in commending Ellie on her move to the University of Notre Dame, where she began work as a Laboratory Technician this summer. In spring 2023, Ellie will begin to pursue a Ph.D. in the Notre Dame Bioengineering Graduate Program with a research focus on lymphangiogenesis.
Her team PI Nick Henriksen reached out to share some of Ellie’s impressive record:
- published two single-authored essays in Times Higher Education (here and here);
- served as a co-author on an article spearheaded by Ryan Szpiech in International Journal of the Sociology of Language;
- served as a co-author on a public essay spearheaded by Ana Silva in Clarín;
- served as the developer and curator of the project’s digital archive (“it’s really a masterpiece” says Henriksen); and
- was interviewed by the Shape-Shorts podcast series.
Johandes reflected in an interview: “The Humanities Collaboratory, and the work that I did through the Speech Production Lab, helped me to develop skills that apply across disciplines. Working on collaborative projects opened my eyes to the importance of approaching a subject from multiple perspectives, which is invaluable in Bioengineering as it combines different fields.”
“I was also able to follow projects from their inception to publication; as such, I feel more prepared for a career in academia.”
Congratulations, Ellie, and best wishes in your future pursuits!