Mia is an MD/PhD student at the University of Illinois currently in the process of completing her PhD in Molecular and Integrative Physiology. Her work focuses on the relationship between metabolism and circadian rhythm generation and maintenance in the brain. Mia spent her childhood in China and New Mexico before moving to the East Coast to attend college, where she studied painting and biology. Her great loves are art, cooking, and the outdoors.

Mia joined Avicenna in 2015 as part of the Outreach Team. She especially enjoys representing Avicenna at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and is grateful for the relationships she has established with regular patrons. An avid gardener, Mia also organizes and helps maintain plots at the Randolph Street Community Garden to grow fresh vegetables and herbs for patients of the clinic. In her role as Co-coordinator of Outreach, she hopes to expand Avicenna’s presence in the community as a source of quality healthcare and health education.