A researcher and aspiring storyteller, Yeongseo Son from the University of Georgia has been awarded the 2025 Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, a prestigious global graduate-level initiative at Stanford University.
Son, a graduate of a high school in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, completed her studies at UGA on May 9. Now a graduate of the Morehead Honors College, she is recognized as a Foundation Fellow and Stamps Scholar after securing bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and biochemistry and molecular biology, along with a certificate in immunology, all from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Inaugurated in 2016, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars initiative offers comprehensive funding for graduate students pursuing various fields including medicine, law, and doctoral studies, including joint and dual-degree programs. The program’s objective is to equip students for leadership roles in devising innovative solutions to intricate global challenges.
Son is UGA’s fourth recipient of the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship.
“From the outset of her journey at the University of Georgia, Yeongseo has been dedicated to effecting change through her research, and the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship is a splendid acknowledgment of her commitment,” stated Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College. “Yeongseo has demonstrated her exceptional talent as a researcher even at the undergraduate level, and we eagerly await the contributions she will make to the advancement of lung health.”
Yeongseo Son (Photo by Stephanie Schupska)
Son intends to pursue a Ph.D. in immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She aims to investigate how the immune system interacts with environmental factors, particularly in the lungs, to enhance global respiratory health. Her aspiration is to integrate various scientific fields, such as developmental biology, to uncover the molecular mechanisms responsible for lung impairment and lung immune environments. In the long run, she hopes to lead a lung immunology laboratory and create a multidisciplinary center focused on lung health.
“Confronted with the external environment, our lungs initiate immune reactions,” she articulated. “At times, these responses falter. Globally, chronic respiratory illnesses are a principal cause of mortality, and lung cancer ranks as the most lethal form of cancer. In addition to my personal intrigue, grasping the complexities of the lungs is of vital importance to the international community.”
Son has conducted research alongside faculty at UGA and Vanderbilt University.
Collaborating with Balazs Rada, a professor in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine’s infectious diseases department, Son has explored a bacterial protein that may be utilized to assist cystic fibrosis patients. With Jennifer Sucre, an associate professor of pediatrics and cell and developmental biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, she investigated a unique mechanism of alveologenesis. Together with Suzanne Pilaar Birch, an associate professor and director at the UGA Quaternary Isotope Paleoecology Lab, she developed skills in analyzing Bronze Age remains from diverse European locations, including Spain, Italy, and Cyprus.
Son dedicated a summer to researching influenza T cell dynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through the MIT Summer Research Program in biology. She is co-author on three publications and has presented at ten conferences, including the CURO Symposium and the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, where she received the Young Scholars Award.
Passionate about translating scientific findings into relatable narratives, Son has conducted interviews with Nobel laureates and other researchers worldwide through the podcast “Let’s Talk Chemistry.” Additionally, she served as an Honors teaching assistant within the Morehead Honors College, acted as an associate director with PCRi Nonprofit, participated on the student advisory board for the Office of Instruction, was editor-in-chief of UGA Stethoscope Magazine, and facilitated activities at the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture.
The Major Scholarships Office at UGA, located within the Morehead Honors College, assists students across the campus as they apply for prestigious national scholarships. For further details, contact Jessica Hunt at [email protected] or visit https://honors.uga.edu/scholarships/external-scholarships/.
The article UGA’s Yeongseo Son named a Knight-Hennessy Scholar first appeared on UGA Today.