Molecular biologist studying blood-feeding arthropods. Mom. Texas transplant.”  If you’d shown me this byline 25 years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined it was describing my future self...and it all stems from an application I submitted to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Research Fellowship during my second year as an undergraduate at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

I finished high school knowing what I wanted to do as a career. I wanted to pursue dentistry, I just wasn’t sure which route I was going to take to get there.  A native Coloradoan, I had always fantasized about the ocean and everything one can think about it; the sun, the fish, surfing, scuba.

Aloha.  My name is Catherine Tsang and I am a Family Physician.  My interest in medicine began with my parents who are registered nurses. 

There is something incredibly satisfying in helping others achieve their goals whether it be learning how to make a layup in basketball, figuring out the SN1 and SN2 substitution mechanisms of organic chemistry, or gaining admittance to medical school.