Jenna Houle ’25 receives Henry Ford II Scholar Award
Jenna Houle ‘25, a recent graduate from the departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering, received the 2025 Henry Ford II Scholar Award.
During her time at MIT, Houle worked on protein engineering projects for improved T cell treatments in cancer at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. She participated in a UROP all eight semesters and considers the experience to be incredibly meaningful and where much of her learning happened.
“I truly found paradise at MIT. During my time here I’ve grown so much as a student, an engineer, and a person,” Houle said. “Beyond the purely academic, being in an environment where anything is possible and everything is happening really blew the walls, doors, and ceiling off my understanding of the world and how I might act in it. It’s been an unbelievable privilege to be part of a community of people who are so capable, passionate, fun, and bold, and who care deeply about each other and our common mission to create the world we’d like to live in.”
This fall, Houle will be starting a PhD in biology at Caltech, where she hopes to build upon the education and experiences she had at MIT.
“Right now, I’m most excited about gut microbiome science because I believe we have fantastic potential to broadly engineer human health through our microbes,” Houle said. “I hope to spend my career working to advance a new paradigm in healthcare where the goal is to proactively build and maintain enhanced health so that we might prevent the vast majority of disease.”
Houle credits many people she has interacted with during her time at MIT for impacting her journey. In particular, she has gratitude for her advisor, Douglas Lauffenburger, Ford Professor of Engineering in the Department of Biological Engineering, who has “gone out of his way time and time again” to support her. She is also grateful for her UROP supervisors, Professor Michael Birnbaum, Allie Lemmer, and Natalie Boehnke, who showed her by example “what it means to do good science.”
“I have so many people to thank for their generous mentorship, guidance, and camaraderie,” Houle said. “The faculty in my departments are fantastic and approachable and have been excellent role models for me and others.”
When asked what receiving the Henry Ford II Scholar Award means to her, Houle said, “It’s an honor to have been nominated and selected. It’s a tall order to live up to an award for leadership potential, but I’m thrilled and deeply grateful to have the opportunity to do so because of the fantastic experiences I’ve had at MIT.”