Shen was one of six graduate students across the U.S. to win the $20,000 fellowship, which is given to Phi Kappa Phi members entering their first year of graduate or professional study. The eight-year program consists of three years of medical school, four years of PhD study and then one more year of medical school. Despite being busy as a first-year medical student, Shen still makes time to play her violin with a chamber music group in Houston. As a UT Dallas student, she published a book of poetry titled Wings of Words that included a piece about her time as a college intern in a neuroscience laboratory. “My experience with research, including publishing a paper, at UT Dallas felt instrumental in preparing me for medical school,” she said.