Sophia Dutton

Sophia is a junior at WashU double majoring in Biology: Neuroscience and Japanese Language and Culture

She lives in Kaneohe, Hawaii (but she has also lived in Texas, Japan and Maryland)

At WashU, Sophia does research in the Ben-Shahar lab on the genetic mechanisms of neuronal pathfinding using homeotic Drosophila mutants

Sophia has won awards and fellowships including the BioSURF fellowship and the Bob and Gerry Vigil Ethic of Service of Award

Her thesis work on cultural approaches to women’s healthcare in Japan was awarded the Spector-Yang Undergraduate Award for Studies in East Asian Languages and Cultures

Sophia is President of Heart for the Unhoused, a student-run nonprofit that connects unhoused populations in STL with healthcare and promotes medical literacy.  She also serves on the executive board of Japan Peer Network

After graduation, Sophia wants to attend medical school, then intends to practice medicine in her home state of Hawaii due to their large Japanese population and physician shortage

Sophia loves the outdoors. After graduating from high school, she and her best friend climbed Mr. Fuji (and got caught in a typhoon mid-climb!)