Page 15 - UMN Chemnews December 2020

Lester C. and Joan M. Krogh Endowed Fellowship
Serena DiLiberti, Lauren Feden, Nathan Love (4th-year Excellence Fellowship), Andrew McCabe, Emily Ness, and Eaindra Yee
Monsanto Franz Innovation Award
Camila Perales Rodriguez and Maya Butler
National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Grant
Hannah Lembke
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Gretchen Burke, Cecilia Douma, Joshua Gavin, Jenna Humke, Niklas Kraemer, Ryan Leighton, Bailey Nebgen, and Levi Palmer
Wayland E. Noland Fellowship in Chemistry
Yukun Cheng (4th-year Excellence Fellowship) and Brandon Paul Datuin
Wayland E. Noland Fellowship in Organic Chemistry
Jack Floreancig, Alejandro Castillo, and Brendan Graziano (4th-year Excellence Fellowship)
Jane B. Spence Chemistry Fellowship
Red Smith-Sweetser and Alexander Umanzor
Overend Award in Physical Chemistry
Prachi Sharma and Shuyi Xie
Phillips 66 Fellowship
Brianna Collins
Dr. Venkateswarlu Pothapragada and Family Graduate Fellowship
Cole Scholtz
Kenneth E. & Marion S. Owens Endowed Fellowship in Chemistry
Madeline Honig, Casey Lee-Foss, and Pauline Lynch
LayChoo Tan Endowed Fellowship in Chemistry
Linh Tran
John Wertz Fellowship in Chemistry
Claire Seitzinger (4th-year Excellence Fellowship) and Nora Vail
Women Chemists Committee/Merck Research Award
Rebeca Rodriguez
Kang Xiong-Hang earned her doctorate working with Professor Christy Haynes, researching the use of bioanalytical techniques to understand platelets and mast cells in the context of malaria and antimalarial drugs.
Kang Xiong-Hang, Ph.D.
“I was lucky to have her in my research group where she contribut- ed scientific creativity, careful experimental planning, and thought- ful mentorship to junior chemists.”
—Professor Christy Haynes
Student Profile: Kang Xiong-Hang, Ph.D.
Among first Hmong women
to earn chemistry doctorate
WHEN KANG XIONG-HANG earned her doctorate in chemistry recently she be- came one of the first, if not the first, Hmong women in the
United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia to earn this distinction.
At the age of six, Kang immigrated to the United States in 1994 as a refugee with
her siblings, where they resided in Fresno, CA. She was the youngest of the children. They lost their mother when Kang was two- years-old and lost their father in one of the Thailand refugee camps prior to immigrat- ing to the United States. Out of her family, Kang was the only one to graduate from high school and pursue higher education. She earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s de- gree from California State University, Fresno.
Kang’s interest in chemistry started in high school when she became fascinated with
lab experiments and the use of chemical techniques to address biological questions. For most of her life, she dreamt of going into a medical field, but her love of chemistry and research drew her to the graduate program
at the University of Minnesota. She worked with Professor Christy Haynes on the use
of bioanalytical techniques to understand platelets and mast cells in the context of malaria and antimalarial drugs.
Professor Haynes lauded Kang for working hard to get her group’s project on single cell analysis in the context of malaria going.
“This was a very difficult task, and she showed impressive tenacity and indepen- dence,” said Professor Haynes. “I was lucky to have her in my research group where she contributed scientific creativity, careful exper- imental planning, and thoughtful mentorship to junior chemists.”
For post-graduate plans, Kang wants to work in the biomedical device industry and is currently looking for a position in the Twin Cities area so she can be close to her family. She is also interested in giving back to the community and promoting science in the community.
As a mother of two young children, one
of the biggest challenges along the way to earning her doctorate was finding a balance between school and family.
Despite the hard work and life-balance challenges, Kang enjoyed her time in the Department of Chemistry, particularly its tremendous outreach efforts and participating in some events, the support from chemistry faculty and Professor Haynes’ group, and the diversity efforts put forth by the department.
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