PhD candidate in the Department of Bacteriology (Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Program)
As an undergraduate, Jessamine Kuehn had an amazing graduate mentor who helped her learn how to find research opportunities and labs. When she came to UW–Madison wanting to pay it forward as a mentor herself, she couldn’t find a program set up to help her do this. So instead, she created one.
An active member in the Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) student organization, Jessamine recruited graduate students from organizations such as GWIS to pair graduate student mentors with first-year undergrads in the We Inspire STEM Empowerment (WISE) Learning Community. In the program’s first run during spring 2025, she recruited more than 40 graduate student mentors.
“I think the most important contributions I made towards this program’s success were taking initiative when I saw an unrealized opportunity, and connecting mentors and mentees based on career areas as closely as possible,” Jessamine said. “The graduate mentors make this program a success by sharing their insights with the undergraduate students.”
More recently, Jessamine created a graduate student committee to continue the mentoring partnership beyond her own time on campus.
Dr. Briana Burton, the faculty director of WISE, says Jessamine’s leadership in WISE has strengthened the scientific community at UW–Madison.
“Her work has not only enriched the undergraduate experience but has also empowered fellow graduate students to connect with one another, practice leadership and mentorship, and contribute to a supportive campus-wide scientific community,” Dr. Burton said.
This is far from Jesamine’s only contribution to campus. She’s involved in inviting industry speakers to monthly gatherings with graduate students and postdocs in microbiology. She won first place in UW–Madison’s 2024-25 Three Minute Thesis competition and advanced to the regional competition. She’s also been active in planning GWIS events and has been the social coordinator for the Badger Ballroom Dance Team.
“I’ve found it very valuable to be involved in graduate student organizations on campus, as a member and later in leadership,” Jessamine said. “These organizations provided me with professional development opportunities and both personal and professional networking, and I wanted to see that continue for the next graduate students.”
As she works to finish her thesis research on the potential for gut-targeted interventions to impact Alzheimer’s disease, Jessamine looks forward to contributing to therapeutic discovery and development. This summer, she’ll intern at Vedanta Biosciences which has developed gut bacterial communities for clinical trials. “I am excited to learn more about and contribute to emerging work in gut bacterial therapeutics and hope to continue to work in the therapeutic development space when I graduate,” she said.