Undergraduate student Kayla Sompel of Albrightsville, was one of two Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania students awarded research grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Biologists for the 2019-20 academic year.

Sompel, a biology major in the premedical sciences option, is researching cancer biology in faculty member Angela Hess’ lab. Specifically, Sompel is examining the effects of Vemurafenib and Dabrafenib on Human Melanoma Cells. She has served as the president of the Premedical Sciences Club for two years and is also the vice president of Students Helping Honduras and the Treasurer of Tri-Beta Biology Honor Society. She is a recipient of the Biology and Allied Health Scholarship.

Sompel has considerable medical experience, participating in Penn State College of Medicine’s Primary Care Scholars Program and the International Medical Aid program in Mombasa, Kenya.