Aarna Raghavapudi
Aarna Raghavapudi
Aarna is from Aurora, Illinois and graduated from Metea Valley High School. She is interested in learning how applied technology can help improve human life.
Aarna’s first foray into research was in 2019, when her team developed an edible and plastic-free water bottle delivering hydration and nutrition with sustainability. In 2020-21, she developed the patent-pending Visual Assistance System with two other collaborators to help the visually impaired navigate their surroundings more independently.
Following her freshman year of high school, Aarna joined the University of Chicago’s DSI Summer Internship, working as a Research Assistant in AxLab (Actuated Experience Lab) under Prof. Ken Nakagaki. She was selected as the youngest member of the cohort, chosen from a highly competitive international pool including undergraduate and graduate students. At AxLab, she drew on her experience as a soccer goalkeeper to develop morphGlove, a shape-changing assistive training glove designed to improve hand positioning and reduce injuries for young goalkeepers.
Over the summer of 2023, Aarna served as a funded SpHERES researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology under Prof. Pedron-Haba. She experimented with different biomaterials and fabrication methods to develop an optimal brain-mimicking hydrogel for Glioblastoma (GBM) cancer cell survival, assisting in the study of this deadliest form of brain cancer.
After her junior year, Aarna attended Stanford Medicine’s Summer of Neurology program, gaining research and clinical insights in the field. She also shadowed and assisted an OB/GYN and volunteered at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital to gain a better understanding of the medical field.
Her leadership includes executive roles at the Alive Center, a nonprofit creating a safe space for teens, and leading a math tutoring club at her school. As a volunteer in her high school’s STEPS program, she helped differently abled students acquire life skills for employment.
Aarna played high school varsity soccer and tennis, is a licensed US soccer referee, and worked as a goalkeeper coach. In her free time, she enjoys puzzles and music. She looks forward to combining her multidisciplinary background with opportunities at Columbia to address real-world challenges.