Kali Konstantinopoulos: The 2022 Clara Javan Goodbody Award Winner

The Clara Javan Goodbody Award was created in memory of Clara Javan Goodbody, the mother of Louise Ann Goodbody, the Dean of Women from 1906 to 1911. This $2,500 award is given to a graduating senior for use in pursuing graduate study. 

For 2022, we are proud to recognize Kali Konstantinopoulos as the 2022 Clara Javan Goodbody Award recipient for her impactful leadership and involvement at IU.

Kali’s Accomplishments

Kali is earning a Bachelor of Science in Intelligent Systems Engineering from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry from the College of Arts and Sciences. Kali has been involved in significant research initiatives during her time at IU. On-campus Kali worked with Dr. Paul Macklin in the Luddy School to develop computational simulations of tumor development to study breast and colorectal cancer. Kali’s work in analyzing how low oxygen levels impact breast cancer contributed to an article published in the journal iScience titled “A persistent invasive phenotype in post-hypoxic tumor cells is revealed by fate mapping and computational modeling,” on which she is a co-author. In Winter 2021, Kali developed an online COVID-19 pandemic simulator to showcase the math behind pandemic predictions. In Summer 2021, she participated in a research internship at Harvard Medical School, working on software for simulating biological cell interactions and mechanics. 

On campus, Kali has been a member of the Board of Aeons for three years, serving as Vice President from 2020 to 2021 academic year and as President from 2021 to 2022. During her time on the Board, she worked on three institutional research projects informing policy recommendations for IU Bloomington and collaborated with administrators and students across campus. Kali is also heavily involved in the Center of Excellence for Women & Technology as the Lead Outreach Intern, encouraging IU students to gain technical skills and promote gender equity in the workplace. Additionally, she is an undergraduate instructor for organic chemistry and machine learning courses at IU, has been involved in the IU Journal of Undergraduate Research, and is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society at IU. Off-campus, Kali is a volunteer for IU Health in the new Regional Academic Health Center. 

Acknowledgments

Kali was humbled and honored to receive this award.  When asked to share some personal reflections and acknowledgments to those in the community that supported her during her time at IU she said:

I would like to thank my research mentor, Dr. Paul Macklin, for encouraging my dual interests in medicine and computational biology. I would also like to thank Dr. Christoph Irmscher for all of his support in the Wells Scholars Program and Dr. Kelly Kish for helping me develop as a campus leader. Finally, I am immensely thankful to my family for always supporting my academic, professional, and personal goals.”