Health science student's love of research began in high school

Unlike many other first-years getting ready to attend the University of Calgary, incoming health sciences student Yundi Wang won’t be on completely unfamiliar ground when she starts classes this September. Wang, a high school graduate from John Diefenbaker in Calgary, has been volunteering — up to 25 hours a week at times — for the past three years in various labs at the University of Calgary.

Wang’s commitment to academic excellence has earned her the prestigious Chancellor Club Scholarship, an entrance award that recognizes academic promise, leadership and extracurricular involvement of the highest degree. Just 10 incoming students are awarded this scholarship annually.

After learning about the staggering number of people affected by heart failure on a global scale in her high school biology class — 17 million worldwide — Wang was inspired to volunteer in Dr. Wayne Chen’s lab at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. With the help of her father, who is a research associate at the university, the then-Grade 10 student reached out to Dr. Chen with the idea of volunteering in his lab, and has been a familiar face in the lab ever since.

She gained more lab experience as an intern in the Heritage Youth Researcher Summer program, an intensive six-week summer science program for Grade 11 high school students that allows participation in health-related scientific research.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” says Wang, referring to the amount of time she still volunteers at the lab. “It’s the most exhilarating experience.”

Wang’s volunteer experiences extend well beyond just lab coats — she has helped raise money to fight poverty and homelessness, educated her fellow students and urged them to get involved in politics, among other pursuits — it is her work in the lab that drives her.

Clearly fascinated by research, Wang intends to become a clinical scientist where she will be able to continue to research effective treatments for arrhythmia while also practising medicine as a cardiac surgeon or pediatric cardiologist.

These experiences have helped prepare her to begin studies at the University of Calgary, and while she admits she has much to learn, she enthusiastically looks forward to getting involved in her program, which she describes as a perfect fit for her.

“When I was looking at universities, I couldn’t really find another program that was as research-based as the health sciences program,” Wang said. “It seems like a total fit for me and my career passions.”