Hanna Gebremichael is a biomedical engineer and aspiring cancer biologist whose work is rooted in advancing translational oncology. With a strong foundation in biomedical engineering from Penn State and a personal connection to the cancer community, Gebremichael is driven to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind cancer onset and progression while developing innovative therapeutic strategies that bring meaningful change to patients and families.
During her undergraduate years, Gebremichael engaged in diverse and high-impact research experiences across multiple institutions. At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, she studied DNA damage and repair in pediatric osteosarcoma, exploring how the protein CDC5L helps preserve genome integrity in highly damaged tumor regions. Her passion for immunotherapy deepened during her work at the University of Pennsylvania, where she evaluated bi-specific T-cell engagers as a therapeutic approach to ovarian cancer. At Penn State, she focused on reengineering antimicrobial peptides as novel anticancer agents, a project that combined her interests in pharmacological design and translational science.
Gebremichael’s research excellence has been recognized through numerous honors, including the Millennium Scholars Program, multiple Best Poster Awards at Penn State Cancer Research Day, and a national presentation award at ABRCMS. She is also a co-author on a peer-reviewed publication in Biomacromolecules, demonstrating her contributions to the fields of host defense peptides and therapeutic development.
Motivated by her family’s long-standing support of St. Jude and inspired by its mission-driven model, Gebremichael joined the Biomedical Sciences PhD program at the St. Jude Graduate School to train at the intersection of research and real-world clinical impact. She is excited to contribute to a scientific community where discovery directly informs patient care, and innovation is grounded in purpose.
Hometown: Raleigh, NC
Education:
2025 - BS, Biomedical Engineering – The Pennsylvania State University
Awards/Honors/Scholarships:
2021-25 - Millennium Scholars Program
2023 - Best Poster: Basic Mechanisms Award, Penn State Cancer Research Day
2023 - Goldwater Scholar Nominee
2022 - Cancer Biology Category Presentation Award, Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
2022 - Best Poster Award, Penn State Cancer Research Day
Publications:
Biswas, D., Benson, S., Matunis, A., Gebretsadik, G., Wertz, A., StPierre, B. J., Schacht, N., Yan, Y., Gebremichael, H. Y., Wong, P. K., Baughn, A. D., & Medina, S. H. (2025). Lead Informed Artificial Intelligence Mining of Antitubercular Host Defense Peptides. Biomacromolecules, 26(5), 3167–3179.