The RPI Pre-Health Committee is a group of faculty and advisors dedicated to supporting you through the medical and health-professional school application process. One of the committee’s primary roles is to provide you with a Pre-Health Committee Letter, a comprehensive letter of evaluation that presents medical schools with a holistic view of you as an applicant. Committee letters are widely preferred by medical schools because they offer context, synthesis, and institutional perspective, bringing together your academic preparation, experiences, personal qualities, and readiness for the profession. Participating in the committee process signals that you have engaged in thoughtful preparation and welcomed structured feedback as part of your journey.
Beyond the committee letter itself, the Pre-Health Committee is deeply involved in helping you strengthen your application and interview skills. As part of the process, you will receive targeted feedback on your application materials, such as guidance to expand your experiences and refine the clarity, coherence, and presentation of your writing. You’ll also participate in practice interviews designed to mirror the style and expectations of health professional school interviews, followed by individualized feedback on content and delivery. The goal of the committee is to mentor and evaluate, helping you present your clearest, most genuine self and approach the application process with purpose and confidence.
Hope Shuttleworth
Pre-Health Advisor, Director of Pre-Health Committee
shutth@rpi.edu
Hope has worked in education since 2008 at high school, university, and state levels as an English teacher, advisor and director of teacher preparation programs, and developer of teacher leadership programs. Hope attended the University at Albany for her B.A. in English and writing, the College of Saint Rose for her M.S. in English Education, and the University at Albany for her PhD in the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. Hope enjoys being in nature, walking and hiking, meditation and wellness pursuits, calm spaces and comfy clothes, live music, road trips, and coffee o’clock every afternoon.
Dr. Michael Klein
Biological Sciences
kleinm6@rpi.edu
Dr. Klein is molecular pharmacologist with extensive experience in neuropharmacology and drug discovery science. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the State University of New York at Albany and his Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology and Neuroscience from Albany Medical College in 2012. His postdoctoral experience began with the investigation of novel serotonin receptor pharmacology, leading to a fellowship at the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University. There, he became the lead pharmacologist for M4 muscarinic receptor research, and in association with AstraZeneca, he developed novel approaches for the treatment of cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and movement disorders related to Parkinson’s Disease.
Dr. Alicia Walf
Cognitive Science
walfa@rpi.edu
Dr. Walf is a neuroscientist and educator at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute whose research interests are fueled by the broad question: Why are there individual differences in stress? This question led to studying hormones' actions for growth and plasticity in the brain and body. She has since refined her pursuit to include consideration of body, brain, and mind relationships as they relate to memory, perception, social cognition and emotions. Dr. Walf has taken a cross-species and cross-discipline approach in her work. Dr. Walf’s studies of effects and mechanisms of stress and well-being often occur in the “wild,” such as in architectural built environments, artistic installations, interactions with technology, contemplative practices, conference rooms, and classrooms. Her research inspires her classroom approaches. Dr. Walf incorporates contemplative, trauma-informed, and social justice pedagogy in her classrooms.
Dr. Tankut Atuk
Sociology of Public Health and Medicine
atukh@rpi.edu
Dr. Atuk is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research is situated at the intersections of Public/Global Health, Medical Sociology/Anthropology, Social Epidemiology, and Queer Health Activism. In addition to master’s degrees in Gender Studies and Sociology, he holds a PhD in Feminist Studies & Anthropology. His current book project looks at the socio-epidemiological dimensions of the highly politicized HIV epidemic in Turkey where public health has become a pathogenic technology. Through community-engaged and activist research, he seeks to understand and redress the ways in which the formal actors of public health leave HIV-negative people, particularly LGBTQI+ communities, susceptible to HIV infection and HIV-positive people defenseless against socio-medical violence.
Dr. Monica Agarwal
Biomedical Engineering
agarwm2@rpi.edu
Dr. Agarwal is a lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from January 2015. She did her bachelors B.Tech in Biotechnology from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, AP, India in 2007 and Masters and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from NYU school of Engineering, NY, USA in 2014. She currently serves as a member of Graduate Committee in Biomedical Engineering Department and organizes Graduate Symposium annually. She is a reviewer for Optics society of America, Optics express, Applied Optics, Photonics Journal, Nanophotonics, Journal of the Optical Society of America B, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, IEEE-photonics. She serves as a Capstone advisor and also curriculum advisor to BME pre-med students. She is a trained ABET Program Evaluator serving through BMES society since 2022.
Dr. Brian Jensen
Biological Sciences
jenseb3@rpi.edu
Dr. Jensen received his Ph.D from the University of Delaware in 2001. His research focused on how environmental cues helped alter lipid metabolism in the fish Fundulus heteroclitus during their reproductive cycle. His post-doctoral experience at the University of Delaware examined the role of extracellular calcium in limiting differentiation in pre-adipocytes. At the University of Pennsylvania, he worked to understand how ischemia altered gene transcription in endothelial cells. More recently, much of Dr. Jensen's focus has been on undergraduate education and improving educational outcomes for undergraduates. He continues to work with undergraduate research students on projects integrating environmental change into biological actions.
Dr. Alexander Ma
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
maa4@rpi.edu
Dr. Ma is active in the continued improvement of Chemical Education and STEM Outreach. He has offered various high school outreach programs for Summer @ Rensselaer. Dr. Ma is the co-lead for the I-Persist Chemistry Mentoring program. He is also the faculty advisor for the Chemistry Demo Team, Rensselaer Chemistry Society, and Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemistry Honor Society. Prior to joining Rensselaer in 2012 as the Freshman Chemistry Coordinator, Dr. Ma was the Director of Outcome Assessment and Program Evaluation for the School of Business and Technology at Excelsior College in Albany, NY.
Dr. Margarita Kirova-Snover
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
kirovm@rpi.edu
Dr. Kirova-Snover is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Prior to joining Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2011, she was a Senior Research Scientist I in the Medicinal Chemistry Department at AMRI, Inc. (Albany Molecular Research). Dr. Kirova-Snover is active in the continued improvement of chemical education and mentoring program in organic chemistry lecture and laboratory.
Kristen Kettering
Center for Career & Professional Development
kettek@rpi.edu
Kristen is a Career Counselor at RPI in the Center for Career & Professional Development. She is very happy to be one of the liaisons to the School of Engineering students! She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in school counseling. Previously, she held a school counselor position guiding middle school and high school students. She has truly enjoyed her experience thus far with RPI students, especially engineering students! Outside of RPI, she spends most of her time with her son and family, friends, and interior decorating. She also has a sweet tooth and LOVES chocolate!
