Medy Mu and Aja Pragana are this year’s incoming class of 2023 and both were born in China but did their undergrad degrees here in the US. Aja (pronounced ‘Asia’ like the continent) did her undergraduate work in biology and neuroscience at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI and then went on to do a research assistantship at Boston Children’s Hospital. A couple fun facts about her are that she has a black belt in Shotokan karate—you definitely want her on your team if you’re headed for a rumble! And also that she’s been sewing since she was 9 years old. Medy did her undergrad at Duke in neuroscience and statistics and had such a great experience as a research assistant in Cagla Eroglu’s lab that she decided to stay here for graduate school. She’s impressively multi-lingual and speaks English, Mandarin, Japanese, and Latin. Something you wouldn’t know about her from looking at her resume is that her favorite fruit is mangosteen. Don’t really know what that is? She recommends Googling it and trying it if you haven’t already! If you see this dynamic duo roaming the halls of Bryan Research, be sure to introduce yourself and welcome them to the department!