Award Recognition
Civic Responsibility
Dennis Zhang is a Columbia College senior studying biology, who has pursued extensive scholarship and service centered around genetics and rare diseases. He has developed genome engineering technologies in the Sternberg lab and conducted precision medicine bioethics research in the Columbia Division of Ethics. As co-president of STRIVE, a mentorship program for teens with sickle cell disease, Dennis encourages fellow mentors to learn from mentees' trials and tribulations to inform their future practice as considerate and equitable professionals. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Dennis was the first and only volunteer at the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center, spending his summer months accompanying terminally ill Huntington's disease patients. This experience inspired his revival of the decade-old "At Your Service" volunteering program, which had been memberless and inoperative for 2 years, into a thriving community focused on serving patients at the end of life and building a future of compassionate healthcare providers.
I am deeply grateful and indebted to my family, friends, and mentors who have unconditionally supported me and left an indelible mark on my journey thus far. Your generosity and encouragement have made me who I am today. Thank you so much!