Celine Chacon

Celine is from Dallas, Texas and graduated from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. At Columbia, she plans to major in biomedical engineering, where she hopes to advance stem-cell-based therapeutics and patient-specific disease modeling by integrating engineering, computation, and translational research.

During high school, Celine developed a strong interest in regenerative medicine and cardiac tissue engineering. Working under Dr. Huaxiao Yang at the University of North Texas, her projects focused on optimizing human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) differentiation for the development of physiologically accurate 3D cardiac organoids. Her work involved identifying optimal CHIR99021 dosing conditions that enhanced chamber formation and improved the generation of cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. This reproducible, cost-effective approach strengthened hiPSC-based disease modeling and accelerated drug discovery pipelines. Celine was awarded $4500 in scholarships for her research contributions over the summer, where she investigated heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and developed endothelial network-enhanced organoids to improve modeling accuracy in 3D cardiac systems.

Beyond her work in cardiac bioengineering, Celine pursued physics research under Dr. Jose Perez, developing a method for hydrogenating graphene using electron irradiation at atmospheric pressure as a green and renewable approach for hydrogen storage in vehicles, for which she became a Finalist in the Texas Science and Engineering Fair (TXSEF). At MIT, Celine researched with peers the cellular and molecular mechanisms of planarian regeneration, examining neoblast behavior and key signaling pathways, and its potential translatability for human regenerative medicine.

Celine is also committed to providing free academic support for underserved students. She served as the Chapter Lead and tutor for the Gift of Words initiative, supporting K-12 students nationwide in math, chemistry, SAT/ACT preparation. Through the Girls Engineering Club, she created hands-on science experiments and demonstrations to encourage young girls to pursue interests in STEM, providing them with academic and social support.

Apart from STEM, music has been a defining part of Celine’s identity. She served as the concertmaster of the Fort Worth Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, performing across the Dallas-Fort Worth area with repertoire from Rimsky-Korsakov to Dvorak. Her passion for music has also led her to engage with senior communities through musical outreach. In her free time she enjoys playing piano, ballroom dancing, and reading.

As a Columbia student, Celine is eager to further explore her academic interests and advance her interests in biotechnology. In the future, she aspires to advance regenerative medicine through research and attend medical school.