Mische Holland

Meet Mische

My name is Mische Holland and I'm a third-year student at Revelle College. I'm majoring in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, with minors in Computer Science and Music. I'm a Spring 2019 TRELS Scholar.

Read about TRELS

Sometimes an unexpected turn of events can lead you to the path that suits you. From early in life, Mische Holland, who prefers they/them pronouns, had planned to become an engineer—until a negative experience on the high school robotics team prompted them to focus on other favorite subjects, biology and chemistry.

Today, the third-year student can be found in the university’s Nizet Lab researching antibiotic drug resistance and playing viola in chamber music ensemble class. Mische plans a double minor in music and computer science—now vital for Big Data analysis in biology research.

Seeking opportunities comes naturally to Mische. As a freshman, they were accepted into UC San Diego’s rigorous Phage Genomics Research Initiative, and this summer will attend Harvard Medical School’s Biomedical Informatics Summer Institute. Mische is active in the university’s chapter of oSTEM—Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—a professional development organization for LGBTQIA+ students, and won the poster competition for research on antibiotic resistance at oSTEM National Conference 2018.

Philanthropic support has also fueled Mische’s academic pursuits, as they are currently a Triton Research and Experiential Learning Scholar and 2018 Eureka! Scholar. The latter opened doors to a wealth of opportunities, including a spot in the Nizet Lab along with credit on multiple research publications, a plus for graduate school application.

“It also connected me with the Academic Enrichment Program and started a great relationship with them, which has pushed me on to even more opportunities,” Mische says.

For this musician-scientist with a quest for knowledge and a knack for navigating the rich array of campus resources, we anticipate a future of limitless possibilities.

Related Links

• Biological Sciences: Cell and Developmental Biology
• Biological Sciences: The Eureka! Scholars Program
• Biological Sciences: Phage Genomics Research Initiative
• Nizet Lab: Bacterial Pathogenesis & Innate Immunity
• Triton Research & Experiential Learning Scholarships (TRELS) at UC San Diego